


The Villa's Star-Crossed Lovers

by cassiahalley



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Banter, Best Friends, Dorks in Love, Drama, Drinking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Humor, Slow Burn, Smoking, Smut, Swearing, and Gary is a sweetheart as always, and miscommunication, and overall fluff, i hope you all like it, lots of misunderstandings, mc has a backbone and an actual personality, this fic is really long so bear with me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 11:34:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 159,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22849486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassiahalley/pseuds/cassiahalley
Summary: Gary and Minerva have finally found their perfect match after entering Love Island, even though they don't know it yet. With lots of feelings involved, confusion, lack of communication and both trying to play it cool, how will things turn out as the reality show they've just entered seems to only want to separate them over and over again?
Relationships: Gary/Main Character (Love Island)
Comments: 89
Kudos: 146





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brunette girl looks light as a feather as she makes her way to the line of boys. Gary can hear Rocco shuffling and inhaling next to him and, further away in the line, one of the boys clears his throat.
> 
> Eventually, Minerva stops dead and gazes at the boys standing in front of her. Her big and curious eyes scan down the line, taking their time to observe each one of them. Inevitably, her cobalt irises land on the only blond amongst the five. Her sparkling stare checks him out briefly, and Gary is quick to notice how her eyes make a brief stop at his arms and chest. She finishes looking at the boys one-by-one without saying anything. The truth is, she’s somewhat speechless— she didn’t expect to see that many gorgeous men together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, beautiful people♥ this is the first chapter of a slow burn fic i've been writing for a while. it turned out to be really extensive, and i promise it's worth it. it actually took me so long to post because i don't really like writing exposition chapters, but here it is at last✧･ﾟ: * even if you're not a Gary stan, i wrote it in a way in which you can read it as the journey of my MC at the Villa, as i'll be adding a bunch of new stuff to the canon story of the game, like extra days, other character's pov's, extra challenges (snog-marry-pie ahem, lie detector test ahem) and lots of new scenes like what happens at CA when the girls are away, just to name a few✿ so not everything evolves around her relationship. i hope you like it♥

**Prologue**

**Somewhere in Spain – Early morning.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-22Ph1ofcI)**

As soon as Minerva steps into the car, she knows this summer is going to be more extra than she first expected. It might be because of the way her stomach knots instantly when she hears the starting engine, or because of the way her whole skin gets covered in tiny goosebumps when her bare back touches the Range Rover’s leather seat. Her cobalt blue eyes stay glued to the back of the driver in front of her and she blinks, her eyelids feeling a little crusty already. Perhaps her beloved glittery pink eyeshadow was not made to be worn in such warm environments, she reckons— she blinks again.

The sunlight in Spain is incredibly bright, or at least brighter than the dim rays of sunshine that usually coat Cambridge’s sky, so the blue-eyed girl swiftly puts on her favourite pair of sunglasses once they get out of the hotel’s parking lot. Her thoughts go briefly to the set of suitcases that are packed in the back of the car, and she questions if it was actually necessary for her to bring her entire sunglass collection. She hasn’t managed to use all of her forty-four pairs in one summer, and she hopes she gets to stay long enough in the Villa to be able to rock every single one of them.

Minerva is not used to feeling this nervous about things, as she always manages to keep a chill aura around herself, even in the worst times and especially during final exams week at uni. However, this time she can’t help but to feel at least a bit uneasy by the fact that she’ll soon be meeting a bunch of hot new people and entering a place full of cameras, where drama is bound to happen. She tries to focus her thoughts on the wind blowing her wavy brunette hair in all directions, managing to relax for the moment.

The truth is, she didn’t apply to Love Island because she actually thought she would find _the one_ there. More than anything, Minerva needed an escape, some sort of distraction from her life, which had started to become too monotonous in her opinion. Between studying all day and partying most nights, taking tiring exams and doing paper reviews, having needy one-night stands and drunk uni party hook-ups, she felt like _something_ was missing. When she came to the conclusion that part of that small void was romantic love, a stable relationship, meeting new people and learning unexpected things, she decided to do something about it. She could be described as an easy-going, light-hearted girl, so she’s mainly expecting to have lots of fun, make new friends and hopefully find a summer fling; she’d like to meet a nice lad to snog with during her stay.

The car comes to a stop and her big blue eyes immediately scan the landscape. She has been in fancy places before, but the tall glass doors and the picture windows that adorn the Villa’s entrance are quite intimidating, particularly considering how short the young woman is. A wide smile spreads across her face nonetheless and she enthusiastically opens the car’s door, excitement rushing through her veins already.

Just when she is standing up from her seat, another fancy jeep pulls to the Villa. The moment it stops, a pair of expensive heels hit the ground.

“Oh, wow, hi!” a feminine and groovy-sounding voice greets Minerva.

“Hey!” the brunette smiles, perfectly disguising the sudden worry that appears in her head as soon as she sees the other girl. The first thought that comes to her mind after that is: _okay, I’m screwed_.

The woman that has just arrived is absolutely stunning, to say the least. She has shiny black hair that is intricately braided and dark skin that is bright and even, plus her posture radiates confidence and she’s rocking an over-accessorized yet fierce outfit. On top of that, she looks like she hits the gym a lot and, in honest words, Minerva hasn’t stepped a foot into those places in eons; it could be said that the blue-eyed girl’s lean body is mostly product of her old figure skating years as a teen and that’s it. Although the young woman has been told she’s fit before, she’s not sure if she’s up to this level, and can only wonder if all the girls, who will end up being her competition later on, are _this_ gorgeous.

“That outfit is incredible,” the dark-skinned girl compliments Minerva with sincerity. She has a nice London accent that accentuates her animated vocals, “I’m Hope. What’s your name, hun?”

“I’m Minerva, but you can call me Minni,” the brunette girl responds. Even though she has the sensation that she will be left in the background for not being as eye-catching as this girl, the Cantabrigian is excited to spend time with new people, so her friendly nature inevitably comes to surface, “You’ve got such a pretty name, by the way.”

“You’re so sweet. It’s so nice to meet you!” Hope exclaims with a grin. “I can’t believe we’re finally here! How are you feeling?” she asks, as both women walk away from the jeep and towards the Villa’s striking entrance.

Minni smiles back and puts her sunglasses on top of her head as they continue walking, until they stop at the very entrance of the Villa. “I’m totally chill,” she jokes, because, on the contrary, all her emotions are through the roof. She proceeds to look at Hope after speaking, and she notices that she didn’t seem to get her humour.

“Playing it cool, huh? I can’t even pretend I’m doing that. I was so excited I almost tripped jumping out of that car. I nearly started my summer of love flat on my face. Can you imagine how that would have looked?” the braided girl replies with her eyes wide open.

“That’s because you’re drop-dead gorgeous,” Minni winks, then.

It’s not something odd from her to be this nice and welcoming to people, as Minerva has been a warm-hearted person ever since she was a child. Much people are pleasantly impressed by how quick she is to slide a cute compliment here and there, or to give a cheeky comeback to lighten the mood. Besides, this carefree behaviour comes along with a set of flirting skills that are pretty much unique to Minni’s character, something that could definitely play to her advantage in a contest like this.

“Babes, thank you! You’re stunning too,” Hope says with a small giggle. “These boys are definitely in trouble. I can’t wait to get a look at all the gorgeous guys we’re going to be hooking up with.”

Thrilled by the idea, Minerva adjusts her sunglasses on her head and gives the other girl a mischievous smirk, “Those boys have no idea what’s coming to them, I’m sure.”

Matching her energy, the dark-skinned woman’s smile widens, “Speaking of which, shall we go and have a look inside? I want to check out the bedroom.”

The pair wastes no time in opening the huge glass doors and entering the outstanding lobby. Then, Hope’s slim high heels and Minni’s chunky and incredibly tall platforms step inside, ready to tour the Villa’s house.

The entire place is decorated with neon signs and pretty lights, almost all the furniture being plain white and the rest of the décor items being either light blue, fuchsia or bright yellow. Cheeky words and catchphrases are written everywhere, adorning almost every wall. Everything is so spectacular and has so much character to it that Minerva can’t help but roam around as they explore in their way to the bedroom area. She’s already loving the ambiance and feeling of this place, and almost forgets that there’s cameras in every corner— and the ceiling, over the windows and between the neon signs.

“Look at this bedroom!” Hope exclaims as soon as she opens a brown door.

The moment Minni enters, she sees a large room full of beds, all of them arranged in a straight line that’s in front of big picture windows. They’re separated from one another by small nightstands, which makes the distance between them rather small, and there’s also drawers below them. Over the headrests, she can see neon signs and a very summery wallpaper.

When looking at the beds themselves, the blue-eyed girl raises an eyebrow and ponders the size of them; she thought her bed at her father’s flat was huge, but now she’s sure that she’s never slept in such a big mattress before. She’s not complaining, though, because she knows there’s a reason for the beds to be so… spacious.

“It’s so fresh, but I can’t imagine what it will look like tomorrow. You know we’re all going to get into bed with a guy we just met?” Hope comments, like if she was reading Minni’s mind.

“That’s why I’m here,” the Cantabrigian humorously replies, letting herself fall onto one of the beds. As she crosses her legs in front of her, she looks quite innocent, despite her previous cheeky remark.

Letting out a small laugh, Hope waves at the air in agreement. “Me too, although I’m not going to come out and say that to the guys. Obviously I’m looking for something long-term, but it’s been a while since I’ve ever been on a date. If there’s a handsome strong-and-silent type, I don’t know if I’ll want to wait around…” she trails off.

Minerva proceeds to bite the inside of her cheek at the thought. She’s not strict or close-minded when it comes to her type on the physical aspect, but there’s a few things she can’t resist: blond men and dark-haired men with light eyes, and if they have nice thighs or beards the better. She’s also very attracted to girly girls with short hair and bold goth girls. Although she doesn’t tell Hope, Minni is sure that if a person with any of those traits shows up, she won’t be able to wait around either.

The blue-eyed girl’s trail of thought is suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door clicking open. Briefly after that, another voice calls out.

“Hey girls!” a tall girl saunters into the room with confidence. The ends of her blonde hair are coloured with pink dye and her dark makeup is over the top, all standing out against her pale skin that’s also covered with black tattoos. For a second, Minni just stares, because it’s like the world has just thrown that goth girl she was thinking of right in her face.

Before speaking again, the new arrival turns over to Minerva and Hope and hugs both of them. Once she separates from them, her green eyes scan them up and down. “You guys are going to be some strong competition,” the tattooed girl comments. It’s hard for Minni to grasp her accent, she has the hunch that it’s not from the United Kingdom but from Australia. “I’m Lottie, by the way,” she introduces herself with confidence. Up next, she looks at the blue-eyed girl, “I love your style. That outfit is incredible.”

The brunette smiles, actually surprised that her pastel and soft-looking outfit is of the liking of such a dark-colours and structured fabrics type of girl. “Aw, thank you,” she replies. “Your hair is so cool. Love that colour.”

Lottie grins, pleased, and then turns to Hope, “Your makeup is amazing. It must take you ages to get ready.”

“Getting my look perfect is really important to me,” the other girl simply answers.

As a response, Lottie bats her eyelashes and winks at her. Following that, her green gaze returns to Minni. “You look like you don’t go too over the top, don’t you?” she bluntly comments, taking special attention to the young woman’s relaxed outfit and chill attitude. This blue-eyed girl must be younger than her, particularly because of the look in her big eyes, and carries a cheerful attitude that could light up an entire room. And, much to her demise, she looks outstandingly beautiful despite not seeming like she’s trying to stand out. If any, the only thing that could be considered over the top in the brunette’s entire look is her glittery eyeshadow. Asides from that, she doesn’t appear to be wearing any makeup besides lip-gloss and some concealer, “Either your foundation is not too good or you’re not wearing any. I can see your freckles from here.”

Quite confused by the intentions of Lottie’s words, Minerva blinks a couple of times. Her kind nature ultimately leads her to see the best in people and the bitterness of the comment flies past her. “I just go over the top for the big nights, you know,” she decides to respond sincerely. “Which is practically every night,” she chuckles

“We have a party girl here, I see,” the tattooed woman says with a grin. “But yeah, I get that. Sometimes you want to just wear PJs and chill, right? And it’s good to give your skin a break.”

Just now noticing that there’s been a misunderstanding, Minni is quick to correct. “Oh, I don’t actually wear foundation. I don’t like the way it feels, if I’m honest. Besides, I like how my freckles look,” she says, friendly. She has always loved having freckles on her cheekbones and nose, so it has never been an option for her to cover them up.

After hearing her affirmation, Lottie raises an eyebrow, almost taken aback. She surely doesn’t like the idea that one of the girls she’s going to compete against can look this good without putting an ounce of foundation on her face, and as a makeup artist it’s even more upsetting. The blonde immediately makes a mental note to remind herself that she has to keep an eye on this freckled girl. Right now, her previous statement about both girls being strong competition becomes more meaningful than ever.

“I, on the other hand, wish I was as brave as Lottie with my look, but I try and keep my style classic because of my work,” Hope interrupts, attempting to draw attention back to herself.

A bit exasperated, Lottie straightens her back and confidently flips her pink-coloured hair, “It’s not just a look to me. I’m a makeup artist, which means going all out is a great way to show off my skill. It’s not exactly the best career to meet boys, though,” she pouts.

Curious about what the other girl might do for a living, Hope turns to Minerva, “What about you, Minni? You look really young. What do you do?”

“I’m studying astrophysics at Cambridge University,” the brunette tells her, her big blue eyes lighting up in an instant. Even though attending university can be tiring sometimes, Minni is so passionate about her career that she can’t imagine herself doing anything else. She has such an especial connection to it that she reckons she was destined to study the stars and solve math equations.

 _Great_ , Lottie thinks in the meantime, while fighting as to not roll her eyes, _she’s smart too_. Just like she thought, Minni looks like she’s in her early twenties, and now it turns out she’s already studying a masters in a prestigious university. Needless to say, the blonde woman is mildly annoyed by the thought that she might be competing against a full-on Mary Sue. Despite this, she truly likes Minni’s attitude so far, even if she doesn’t want to like it. The Cantabrigian has been so nice to her and she has such a softie halo around her that makes it almost impossible for her to despise. The astrophysics student looks sincere and genuinely kind, a vibe that always brings Lottie’s natural defences down— she has always had a soft spot for people like this.

“Maybe your love will be written in the stars,” Lottie responds, choosing to be equally nice towards the younger woman. Next, the makeup artist is about to ask something else when she’s cut short, as a head peeks around the door.

“Hi! I’m so glad I’m not the first one here,” a red-haired girl chimes in.

Following that, the new girl proceeds to enter timidly and trot towards the group. She looks even younger than Minni and insignificantly similar to her, but she also seems more clumsy, less laid-back and inclusively insecure to some extent; their overall energies are fairly different.

Glad to see another person coming in, Minerva offers a friendly smile and remains sitting cross-legged on one of the beds, whereas Hope waves at her animatedly and invites her to come over. In response, the new arrival approaches gingerly and hugs each one of them in turn. She has a flowery scent, resembling an old-lady’s perfume.

“I’m Hannah! I guess you guys didn’t hear me come in. Did I miss any good chat?” the red-haired girl introduces herself, talking rapidly.

“We’re just talking about getting to know the boys. I don’t know about you guys, but it feels like I’ve been single forever,” Hope sighs and sits dramatically next to Minni.

The girls’ welcoming approach surely helps Hannah relax. An at-ease smile forms in her face as she takes a seat in the bed that’s placed in front of the other two women, “It’s so nice to hear someone else say that. I thought it was just me,” she confesses.

Seeing this as a good opportunity to gather info, Lottie immediately turns to Minerva. “What about you, Minni?” she casually asks. “You’re gorgeous. How come you’re single?”

“Well…” the blue-eyed girl begins. Pondering her answer, she lightly taps her small fingers over her plump lips, “Things just never got serious with anyone, I guess because it’s kinda hard for me to get attached to people. It’s not that I’m afraid of commitment or anything, I just… get bored after a while.”

It can be said that Minni has been lucky and unlucky when it comes to her love life. She has never been in a toxic relationship or had her heart broken, but, indeed, things have never gotten serious for her, despite the fact that she’s always been called ‘girlfriend material’. In plenty of occasions, she’s been the one to break up the relationship simply because, as time passes, she gets quite bored of the routine that comes along with it. She always cuts ties with her lovers in the nicest way possible, because she can barely stand hurting people. And, following that, the simple thought of breaking up makes her feel bad afterwards, so she forces herself to move on quickly. It’s an endless cycle that she can’t get rid of— she knows that the only way to end it is by finding someone who she can’t get enough of, someone who is simple and as chill as her. She’d be chuffed to end up with someone who’s always up for banter and trying new stuff.

“It’s the same for me,” Hope seconds next to the brunette girl. “I think I always put my career first, so nothing ever has the chance to develop.”

With this, the chat continues between the group of girls, mainly with Lottie venting out some tragedies regarding her love life. Eventually, the topic of friendships between the girls during the competition surfaces, and Minni ends up admitting that she’s all about putting her friends first, something that is a big part of her personality. Beyond being selfless, the blue-eyed girl is overly empathetic, a trait that has never allowed her to put her interest first if it means treading on someone else’s toes.

After a while, their conversation gets interrupted again by the door opening. The click of heels approach as a dark blonde girl enters the communal bedroom. She’s just as short as Minni, her look being very mature and relatively formal.

“Hello ladies, I’m Marisol!” she greets them with confidence. She glides into the room and air-kisses everyone on both cheeks, her bright red lipstick standing out against her tanned skin.

Once she blends onto the group, the girls continue talking for a while, with lots of information being exchanged. Minni finds out that Marisol’s approach is completely contrary to hers, since she’s open in saying that she won’t be putting anyone’s feelings over hers. Although the freckled girl respects her point of view, she doesn’t quite share it; Minerva is too much of a team player. It doesn’t matter if it’s a girl, a boy, or someone who doesn’t identify as any of both, she's always making sure that everyone is okay, and that sometimes makes her come across as a people pleaser. In reality, Minni couldn’t care less if people feel uneasy when they see her looking after those she cares about. At least, Lottie and Hannah seem to be in the same boat as her when it comes to watching out for one another. Right now, the astrophysics student can only hope this friendly behaviour lasts forever, because she just _hates_ confrontation.

Ultimately, the group of women runs out of topics to talk about, so they resolve to get the party started, something that Minni couldn’t agree more with. The first to move is Lottie, who struts over to the door, but ends up stopping on her tracks when a notification sound comes from one of their phones, the ding sound floating around the bedroom.

“What was that noise?” Marisol asks.

“I might have an idea…” Lottie grins whereas she checks her phone. “Guys! I got a text!”

Between the excited exclamations from the rest of the girls, the makeup artist positions herself right in the middle of the communal bedroom, ready to read the first text of the season.

<Girls, it’s time to meet the boys! There’s five sexy men waiting to meet you on the lawn. You’ll take it in turns to make an entrance and pick a boy. But don’t relax once you’ve coupled up! The boys all stay up for grabs until every girl has chosen. Will the next girl out steal your hunk and put you on the bench? #picknmix #standbyyourman.>

“It’s happening you guys!” Hannah beams, jumping in place. “Who do you think will get to go first?”

Right after she finishes speaking, Minni feels her phone vibrating inside the pocket of her oversized shirt, the sound instantly echoing in the room.

“I guess we’re about to find out,” Hope comments, curious.

<The girl going first will be Minerva.>

When she finishes reading the text out loud, the astrophysics student’s mouth inevitably hangs open. Afterwards, all the girls turn to look at her, most likely expecting a panicky reaction but, instead, the young woman’s surprised expression rapidly turns into a happy smile.

At this point, Minerva has dated so many people that she’s confident in her flirting skills and ability to make a good first impression. Beyond that, she’s known for being able to get men’s attention whenever she pleases, so she knows that won’t be a problem if she’s all by herself with all them. Considering this, she’s more than excited to have the opportunity to be the first one that gets to meet the boys. This is one of the reasons why she applied to Love Island, after all.

“Good luck!” Lottie tells her, sincerely and fairly impressed by how excited the brunette appears to be.

In no time, Minni’s sweet smile turns into a more mischievous one. While standing up graciously, she winks playfully at the blonde woman, “Thanks, but the boys are the ones who will need it.”

**At the Villa’s lawn – Morning.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pX7UXNaU4Y)**

The faint sound of a door closing can be heard across the lawn, followed by rhythmic footsteps that seem to be the product of heavy shoes. Because of the anticipation, Gary immediately feels a rush of endorphins lighting up his brain. He knows this is a sign that the first girl is walking towards them and that they’re seconds away from meeting her.

The five men have been waiting in line for a few minutes already, right in the middle of the lawn, and the anxiety of getting to know the girls is building up every second that passes. One of them, who introduced himself as Bobby, has managed to lighten the mood a couple of times by making silly jokes, and Gary has followed with a cheeky comment here and there. Overall, the group of boys have had nice banter together, which is relieving for the Chathamite, since he’s always been a lads’ lad.

The crane operator’s can’t avoid scanning up and down the girl that appears from inside the Villa. His mesmerized crystal blue gaze takes it all in at once, going from head to toe, and then back up. Wavy brunette hair, shoulder length with a pair of purple sunglasses at the top of her head. Huge, bright blue eyes and incredibly large eyelashes. A delicate button nose and freckles making a path from one cheekbone to another. Pink and puffy lips upturned into a soft smile. The colour of her light pink bikini matches the rosy shade of her cheekbones and contrasts with the rest of her milky-white skin. Whereas she takes relaxed steps, the breeze delicately moves the oversized pastel button up that she’s thrown over her outfit.

She’s no supermodel by any means: she’s short, not taller than 5’2”, and she isn’t exactly packing in the bum or breasts department. Despite this, she’s proportionate, lean and dainty, and carries herself with ease even when she’s sporting the highest platforms Gary’s ever seen. She reminds him of those fancy yet light-hearted actresses of the black and white movies his nan likes to watch.

The brunette girl looks light as a feather as she makes her way to the line of boys. Gary can hear Rocco shuffling and inhaling next to him and, further away in the line, one of the boys clears his throat.

Eventually, Minerva stops dead and gazes at the boys standing in front of her. Her big and curious eyes scan down the line, taking their time to observe each one of them. Inevitably, her cobalt irises land on the only blond amongst the five. Her sparkling stare checks him out briefly, and Gary is quick to notice how her eyes make a brief stop at his arms and chest. She finishes looking at the boys one-by-one without saying anything. The truth is, she’s somewhat speechless— she didn’t expect to see that many gorgeous men together.

“Hi boys, I’m Minerva,” the freckled girl greets. Her voice is airy and high pitched, her smooth British accent having a silky tone to it, “But you can call me Minni, if you want.”

Gary grins then, feeling confident already. “Alright?” he responds to her. “My name’s Gary. Nice to meet you.”

His gesture causes the young woman to smile back at him, and he instantaneously perceives how laid-back her character must be. Either she’s not nervous at all or she does a great job at hiding it, because, after that, she walks past him and doesn’t rush when greeting the rest of the lads. Despite this, she doesn’t come across as overly confident, less like an arrogant bird. She actually looks like she’s just meeting new friends, not a bunch of handsome blokes who she has to choose from to couple up.

Minni takes it easy as she gets to meet the five men. She’s happy to know that they’re quite an interesting bunch, all with different personalities, that are palpable in the way they introduce themselves. So far, she’s having an amazing time, and one of the boys even managed to get her laughing with an awful joke.

“Are you saying that you’re sweeter than these other guys?” Minerva asks Bobby, who’s pun could’ve totally backfired if she didn’t like that type of mocking banter. After that, she lets out a short chuckle.

“Maybe you should pick me and find out,” he replies, self-assured. His words make the astrophysics student raise an eyebrow, a smirk forming on her lips because of his confidence.

For now, Rocco and Gary are the ones that Minni feels attracted to the most. Rocco, a boho food truck owner, has a relaxed, adventurous attitude, something that has always matched with the brunette girl’s personality, and has the plus that they’re the same age. And, as for Gary— she simply can’t take her eyes off him. The Chatham crane operator is so unbelievably handsome that she has to force herself to look in other directions, especially when he meets her eyes. Blond, rugged men have always been one of the Cantabrigian’s weak spots when it comes to attraction, something that has become more evident to her now that she has the opportunity to crack on with one.

There’s also Ibrahim and Noah, a braided golfer and a tall librarian, respectively. Although she thinks they’re absolutely gorgeous, they haven’t brought butterflies to her belly as of yet. They have been quite timid as of now, so she can’t make up her mind about them until she gets to know them better. Still, Minni is sure they can be good mates.

Finally, there’s Bobby, a Scottish hospital caterer who she can’t place a finger on. The blue-eyed girl can’t decide whether she fancies him the way she fancies Gary and Rocco, or if she just thinks he’s nice and funny. However, she can’t deny that something has clicked between them already.

When she’s done meeting them all, the young woman walks back and stands in the middle of the line, facing the boys. Gary watches her intently, whereas he asks himself why he can’t stop checking her out. There’s something he finds so alluring about this girl that he can’t pinpoint properly. He’s not sure if it’s the way she carries herself, walking so calmly yet so bubbly and energetic, if it’s the way she speaks in a soft manner and smiles sweetly, or if it’s the way her eyes seem to be always twinkling. Or, perhaps, it’s just because she’s simply _beautiful_.

In this moment, he thinks of all the times he tried to convince his mate Dicky to apply to this reality show with him, and he got basically mocked for it. Jokes on him, Gary reckons, because now he’s standing in front of a gorgeous and single bird that gets his pulse racing. If that’s how the first girl is making him feel, the blond man can’t even imagine how he’s going to handle meeting the rest of the girls.

It doesn’t take much time until Minni feels her phone vibrating inside her pocket again.

<Minerva, now you’ve met the boys, it’s time to find out what they think of you. Please ask the boys to step forward if they fancy you.>

A sudden nervousness washes all over her, but she manages to shake it off with the thought that she has definitely sensed a flirty attitude coming from most of them, so more than one surely must fancy her enough to step forward and spare her the embarrassment of not being picked by anyone.

“Um, okay boys,” the young brunette says, holding the phone in the air with one hand. “Now I have to ask you a weird question,” she informs, a small and soft laugh escaping her lips. “If you fancy me, please step forward.”

After that, she simply waits, her heart thumping strongly against her chest, even though she managed to calm her thoughts prior to asking. Not a second passes before Gary, the muscular blond, steps forward, being the first one to show an evident interest in her. On the inside, Minni sighs of relief. A dazzling smile forms in her freckled face then, her blue eyes immediately fixed on the crane operator.

Confidently, Gary meets her gaze. He likes the way she matches his grafting intentions right away, all just by giving him a look. In honest words, he would’ve been crazy not to step forward for her, although he’s not expecting such a gorgeous lady to actually go for a simple bloke like him. He has to try, though, and so far he feels that he has done quite well, even impressing her by being the first one to step forward.

Following that, Minni comes to a pleasant surprise when Rocco, Bobby and Ibrahim also steps forward, and now she finds herself spoiled of choice, so much that she feels like she can’t decide.

As her stunned eyes go back and forth between the boys, until she decides to ask, “Gary, why did you step forward?”

For a moment, the Chathamite looks thoughtful, while he tries to think of the right words. “You look great, that always helps. My type is definitely someone who puts a bit of effort into their appearance,” he begins, trying to keep his cool and not to sound too eager. “I’m kind of a simple guy. I just figured you looked a bit of a sort, so I thought I’d try it.”

Not particularly amused by his answer, Minerva raises an eyebrow— he just commented on her looks. Noticing this, Gary’s body tenses. He wonders if he mucked up his chance already, as it always happens to him. He figured that, since he always scares girls away by talking too much and sounding way too interested, keeping it mysterious this time would help, but maybe he kept his answer so short that he came out as an uninteresting lad. Overall, the blond man either fails to impress a bird right away, or says something weird that kills the atmosphere.

Up next, the young woman nods and turns to Rocco. “And you, Rocco, why did you step forward?” she smiles, briefly checking him out.

“Of course I did,” the curly-haired man responds. “I feel like we could have something really special.”

It’s the strange smoulder that comes after his short phrase that makes Minni roll her eyes playfully. It will definitely take more than some smooth talk to win her over, but she kind of likes his tranquil demeanour so far.

She proceeds to ask the same question to Ibrahim, who candidly grins at her, “I sort of just thought, I’ve got to take a shot, you know?”

Even though the physics student finds him sweet, that answer was a bit too short for her taste and he’s certainly a closed off lad, so she decides to ultimately turn to face Bobby.

“And you, Bobby?” Minerva asks, looking at him with attention.

The Scottish lad beams at her, straightening his posture. “You seem like the kind of girl that doesn’t go too over the top with her look. I rate that,” he says with honesty. “I don’t want the competition when we stand next to each other, you know,” he humorously adds.

 _The nerve of this guy_ , Minni thinks as she squints her eyes at him. She’s quite enjoying the banter, nonetheless. Next, she slightly tilts her head to one side to fake being bugged by his words.

“Joking, of course,” Bobby continues, just now having the impression that he could be messing up. “Anyway, you know if you pick me you’ll be laughing all the way to the bedroom.”

“And in it,” Gary is quick to comment, comically.

His interruption makes Minni air out a short giggle. The atmosphere surely becomes lighter to the crane operator, since he’s just heard what he could only describe as music to his ears. For a second, the young woman’s sight goes back to him, and he rapidly takes that opportunity to sneak a wink at her.

Feeling a bit flustered, Minerva smiles and directs her eyes to the rest of the boys once more.

“I know I’ve only just met you all, but I do have to choose, so…” she starts speaking, scanning the line. She’s rather indecisive until her blue irises land on Gary. Blond guys have always been her type, plus he’s confident and appears to have good banter. Despite this, the thing that draws her to him the most is that he’s cheeky all over, and the young brunette relishes on cheekiness; they could be a good match, she reckons. After making them wait a bit more, she is finally able to make a proper decision, “Alright, so, the boy I want to couple up with is… Gary.”

With a huge beam forming in his bearded cheeks, Gary winks at her again. He’s so chuffed he can feel warmth building inside his chest, especially because he absolutely didn’t see this coming. “Nice one, darling,” he says, his smile not vanishing anytime soon. “I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better.”

Whereas the remaining boys applaud, Minni walks nonchalantly and stands next to him. Even if she looks calm, the freckled girl is buzzing with energy, giving that she’s more than excited to get to hang out with new people and, most importantly, with such an attractive lad.

“Congratulations, Gary. I guess I’m not the big fish in a small pond anymore,” Ibrahim comments, sincerely.

“It’s all still to play for though,” the blond man replies, maintaining his grounded character. Then, he turns to look at Minni and gifts her a smirk, “Hi, by the way.”

Because of her short height, the Cantabrigian has to lift her chin to return the flirty stare. Although the crane operator is not too tall, his robust frame still towers her. “Hi,” she says, subconsciously batting her eyelashes.

Gary can’t hide how thrilled he is by this whole situation, as he leans closer to speak. “This isn’t how I usually meet people, but I’ve got to say… I’m loving it so far,” he states. Then, he casually throws an arm over Minerva’s narrow shoulders.

The warmth of his fair skin impresses Minni right away, and his hug is so cosy that she has the impulse to snuggle closer, but she doesn’t do it because she’s just met this bloke. Still, getting another cuddle from Gary is something she will consider for later on.

The ceremony continues once another text arrives and Lottie is the next girl to step onto the lawn. Everything seems to happen so quickly as she gets to choose in no time, followed by Marisol, Hope and Hannah. The entire ordeal ends in less than an hour, with Minerva being quite concerned by the thought that any girl could take Gary away from her, before she can even get to know him properly, and she would have to go to the bench. Luckily, this doesn’t happen, all of the girls choosing different boys. In the end, Lottie ends up coupled up with Rocco, Marisol with Ibrahim, Hope with Noah and Hannah with Bobby.

When the ceremony is over, the realization that another person should be coming in surges between the Islanders. After that, Gary is the first one to speak, trying to reassure everyone. “I don’t reckon there’s going to be anyone else for now,” he says, relaxed. “We’re all here, we’re in our couples, but we still haven’t really met each other yet.”

“Exactly,” Marisol agrees, looking at him in the eye. A mischievous grin forms on her face, accompanied with something that Gary can’t quite decipher, “Let’s crack on.”

On cue, the Islanders scatter across the Villa and start to chat in order to get to know each other. Instantly, the crane operator notices Minni’s huge blue eyes staring up at him.

“Why not take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Gary tells her with a smirk.

Smiling at his banter, the brunette girl gets closer. “I could actually just take a pic and go away, if you want,” she teases. “It’ll be kinda hard to fit your whole body in just one frame, though,” she adds, gesturing at his muscular chest and limbs.

The blond can’t help but let out a chuckle at her response, “You’ve got nice banter, don’t you?”

Nonchalantly, Minerva shrugs and puts on her sunglasses. She’s definitely playing it cool, but already feels at ease in Gary's company. Considering this, she has an idea. “Come with me. Let’s get to know each other,” she says with an animated yet soft voice tone. Next, she takes his big, paw-like hand with a gentle grip and guides him towards the outside seating that’s near the gym area.

“You don’t beat around the bush, do you?” the crane operator asks while they walk. “I’m well into that, if I’m honest.”

**At the outdoors sofa – Morning.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRsDECNO-rc)**

The young woman can feel a small, blushing sensation creeping up her cheeks, as they make their way around the pool. Ultimately, they decide to sit down at the nearest sofa, facing each other. Although Minerva is able to maintain her casual body language, her enthusiasm increases once she notices Gary’s crystal blue eyes lighting up at the sight of her scooting closer to him.

When staring at this gorgeous bird, who also looks so approachable, the muscular man can’t avoid starting a conversation immediately.

“If I’m honest, it’s such a weird trip coming in here and meeting all these girls. It’s like, I’ve been here five minutes and already I’m sitting next to the most _beautiful_ girl I’ve ever seen,” he babbles out words, being sincere with his intentions.

Minni takes a couple of seconds to process his words. They all could potentially sound like a line to try and charm her up, but the tone in which Gary has delivered them shows that he’s being genuine. Still, she has to make sure he’s meaning all of this. “Do you mean that?” she asks with a soft smile.

“Of course I do!” the Chathamite responds. “The competition is pretty fierce out here, for both of us. My head is spinning. It’s all so much to take in,” he follows. “How are you finding it?”

“I’m actually quite nervous too, and I’m not sure whether being coupled with such a hot bloke helps the situation or not,” the blue-eyed girl offers him a cheeky smirk, actually managing to make him blush a little. “And you’re right, it’s a lot to take in at once.”

“Tell me about it,” Gary agrees, leaning back on the lounger in a chill gesture. His strong muscles bulge quite evidently as he moves, and he hopes Minerva notices that. “I never thought I’d make it in, and now there’s so much happening all at once,” he confesses then, while looking around. The sound of the other Islanders chatting drifts across the lawn. They’re all so fit that he’s still baffled on why a bird like Minni would go for him as her first choice, “So, you picked me… I guess we should get to know each other a bit, as you said. Ask me anything! I’m an open book.”

It just takes that initiative for the pair of blue-eyed Islanders to start animatedly talking. The conversation between them flows so easily that it appears they’ve known each other for years. Because of this, after a quick chat they manage to get to know relatively a lot from one another; Minni finds out that he’s just two years older than her, that he lives in Chatham and works as a crane operator— and also a bunch of random facts, like that one time he had sex up a tree, or that he lost a winning lottery ticket. And, as for Gary, he’s impressed to find out that Minerva is just twenty-one years old and yet she has travelled a lot and is currently starting a masters at her university. What catches his attention the most is her weird-sounding surname, Drăghici, that comes from her dad being born in Romania, which language she also speaks fluently. Needless to say, the blond man can’t seem to pronounce it properly as of now.

Despite being pleased that he landed such a fascinating bird, Gary is not sure if he’s up to her level. For a moment, he gets worried that she might be too interesting for an ordinary bloke like him.

“Come on, ask another question,” Minni encourages, snapping him out of his thoughts. She’s looking at him through her sunglasses and seems to be paying attention in a special way.

The Chathamite stretches his limbs a bit before responding. He’s leaning on his right side of the sofa, with his hand comfortably supporting his head. “Honestly, I don’t know what else to ask, mate,” he says, chuckling.

Right after speaking, Gary can see the physics student raising an eyebrow. “ _Mate_?” she gasps. A short laugh of hers follows, as she struggles with faking outrage, “Are you friend-zoning me already, Rennell?”

Getting nervous because of his silly slip-up, the blond man’s eyes open wide. “N-No, I mean… I didn’t mean to…” he stutters.

His reaction causes Minerva to laugh more, breaking her indignation act. “I’m just bantering you, _mate_ ,” she reassures, waving her small hand in the air. “I quite like that nickname.”

Because of her laid-back statement, Gary notices that she was just messing with him. After letting out a short laugh, he is able to relax, although he still shakes his head at himself for having fallen into her trap.

Even if the blue-eyed girl enjoys the comfortable silence that forms between her and the crane operator, her friendly nature drives her to want to get to know more about him, so she decides to push the conversation in order to get him talking a bit more.

“You know what? Let’s just… throw random facts about each other,” the brunette grins enthusiastically.

Gary’s face lights up by the weird suggestion, “That’s a great idea, I love random chatter. Alright, you first.”

The young woman proceeds to think for a second, and then spits out the first thing that comes to mind, “I really like tunnels.”

Once she’s said it, she realizes how stupid it sounds. _Tunnels? Really, Minerva?_ she berates herself, wanting to facepalm. Out of all the things she could’ve said, she picked the weirdest, most useless fact about herself. Despite making herself cringe internally, she manages to keep a smile towards Gary somehow.

Much to her surprise, the light-hearted Chathamite follows the conversation like she had just said the smartest thing in the world.

“Mate, those things are proper tricky to build,” he comments, casually. “A few years ago, before I worked at the docks, I was the crane operator for this company who landed a contract to build one of the newest tunnels in Chatham…”

Whereas Minni tries to listen to him, her attention inevitably drifts elsewhere, just because she can’t believe that this man didn’t mind the awkwardness of her remark. Furthermore, her head spins from confusion when she sees that he actually _enjoys_ the weirdness of it all, and goes along with it just fine.

“… and because of that it took so long to build that bloody tunnel, I’m telling you. I thought we were never going to finish it,” Gary concludes the story with a sigh.

Now, the freckled girl most definitely can’t contain her smile, thinking how easy it is to talk to him. Without a doubt, she’s made a good decision when choosing him, particularly because he seems to be an open and honest lad; as of now, she feels like Gary is trustworthy, a trait that’s important in every partner.

“Righto. My turn,” the muscular man continues. “My favourite farm animals are… cows.”

“Cows?” Minni asks, trying to contain a giggle. “Why not horses or chickens? Or… roosters?”

“Why not cows?” he frowns, playfully.

Lowering her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose, the freckled girl squints at him, “Did you just say cows just because they’re the first ones you thought of?”

“Pretty much. I started the sentence and suddenly didn’t know now to finish it,” Gary says, sheepishly. Every minute that passes while speaking to Minni, the easier it gets for him to feel at ease in her company and to talk to her like if they’ve been long-time mates, “I actually don’t really spend a lot of time on farms. My nan used to keep chickens and they were a nightmare, so I just thought of anything that wasn’t a chicken.”

Despite stifling a laugh at the beginning, Minerva ends up letting out an entertained giggle. That sound becomes so alluring to Gary that he can feel his heart fluttering all of the sudden.

After this, they find themselves staring at each other, a relaxed quietness surrounding them. Unexpectedly, the chatter of the rest of the Islanders fades away slowly, the air becoming lighter between the pair.

“My turn,” the physics student says, now feeling like she can tell Gary absolutely anything. She’s always loved random chatter as well, “I profoundly hate washing the dishes.”

The mellow conversation continues, with them actually learning a lot more about each other than when they were asking proper questions. For the first time in what feels like ages, Gary feels so comfortable when talking to someone new that his awkwardness shows up without him regretting it. On top of this, there’s a certain relief when realizing how easy things are going between them— they’re having so much fun together and they’ve met less than an hour ago.

Time passes, until Gary eventually lifts his head upwards to stare across the lawn, as something catches his attention. Following his sight, Minni turns around and sees the rest of the Islanders getting together in one big group, the only ones missing being the two of them.

“So, Minni,” the blond man says, her nickname already having a nice ring to it when he voices it. “Fancy us joining the group over there?”

“Yeah, I think it’s time,” the young woman answers. Graciously, she stands up and stretches a little. “To be completely honest, it was actually too much _Gary_ for one day. I need a break,” she adds, now faking being exhausted for having to deal with his weirdness for so long. A devilish smirk spreads her plump lips afterwards, as an indication that she’s teasing him again.

“Oi!” Gary protests. He’s surely entertained, but, before he can think of a cheeky comeback, Minerva is already sauntering towards the rest of the Islanders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this chapter didn't have much action, but the exposition was necessary. this fic is actually really long, and has lots of layers and different character pov's, so it definitely gets more and more exciting as time passes✧･ﾟ: * thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter♥


	2. Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The blue-eyed girl is getting lost in thought, her eyes going up to analyze the constellations above her, when Gary sits down beside her. After all that Priya debacle, she felt like she needed some time alone, but is glad that he came here to make her company. She still feels a little uneasy after the new girl admitted having her eye on him, but it all washes away when he moves closer to her. Minni unconsciously grins at the sight of him; the fairy lights of the Villa make his bare torso look more chiseled, giving his skin a honey-like glow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again, guys♥ in this fic's chapters you'll notice a small musical note in some parts here and there. if you click on them, you'll get a background music suggestion for the scene that follows, in case you want to check them out. the lyrics most of the time don't match what's happening or anything like that, it's just for ambience like they do in the tv show :D anyway, i hope you like this chapter❀

**Day 1**

**At the Villa – Noon.**

“It’s time to kick back in the sunshine and have a drink,” Gary says, heading straight to the table on one side of the lawn, which is laid out with champagne on ice and ten champagne flutes. The condensation rolls enticingly down the sides of the ice bucket.

After chatting with the rest of the group, Minni was itching to try that bubbly champagne, so she’s glad Gary took the lead to open it up and get the party started. She follows him with her gaze, and then goes to stand up next to him.

“A bit fancier that I’m used to, but I can make it work,” he adds once Minni gets next to him. There’s a satisfying ‘pop’ and the bubbles spill down the sides of bottle.

“Amazing! That sound never gets old,” Hope comments, walking closer.

“I love the first part of a new adventure,” Rocco says, moving closer to Minni. He looks at her when he starts speaking again “I remember a time when I’d taken my van down the Adriatic coast. There were about ten of us, and we all met at this tiny cocktail bar…”

Gary pats the other boy’s back lightly. “Sounds like a great story, mate, but you want one of these or not?”

Minni stifles a laugh after seeing Rocco’s embarrassed reaction, who then stops talking and gives Gary a hand. She has the feeling that being around this gang of boys will be such a laugh, just like her mates back home. In Cambridge, most of her classmates are guys, so her closest friends turn out to be men and she even grew up in a house just with her two older brothers and father. Because of that, it would be an understatement to say that she gets along with men just fine. She sometimes wonders how she has managed to maintain her whole girly halo after being surrounded by testosterone pretty much twenty-four-seven.

“Why don’t all of you men fetch us some drinks?” Hope suggests.

“Making the boys work for it. I love that,” Lottie smirks.

Minni shifts slightly in her place. Honestly, she’d rather be hanging out with the boys for now than hearing more girl talk, but she also doesn’t want to look as if she was desperately trying to get to know them with the intentions of flirting. She decides to remain still in her place, her big eyes following them as they go away.

As the boys walk off towards the drinks, Rocco hangs back, noticing her longing look at them.

“What about you, Minni? Want to give us a hand?” he asks.

Her face instantly lights up at the invitation. This makes her think that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to consider this boy as a solid second choice. After nodding, Minni heads straight to where the boys are preparing the drinks, with Rocco behind her.

Gary greets her with a big smile, actually pleased to see her there with them. He didn’t expect her to actually prefer hanging out with lads, as she looks like such a girls’ girl. He’s not complaining though, as seeing her helping them prepare the drinks makes he even more attractive in his eyes.

They all share a quick, candid conversation as they work. Between the clattering of the glasses, ice being poured in and arranging the flutes, Minni feels some tension lifting from her shoulders. She finds it refreshing to be around guys and to talk about random topics, rather than talking _about_ guys. In no time, they’re all back in the sun lounger’s area where the girls are, and Noah starts handing around the drinks.

“Cheers, everyone. Welcome to Love Island!” Gary says, lifting his flute.

“Cheers!”

The sound of glasses clinking is followed by quiet as everyone drinks. The bubbles tickle Minni’s tongue just the way she likes, knowing from the taste of it that it must be an expensive bottle. She smiles, loving this stuff.

“That’s delicious. So classy,” Hope comments, breaking the silence.

“I’m never going to get why people like this stuff,” Gary purses his lips together as he looks at his flute.

“What?” Rocco asks, vocalizing exactly why Minni was thinking.

The muscular blond shrugs. “Can’t go wrong with a little Cheeky V, you get me? They used to do 2 for 1 pitchers of that down my local on Fridays.”

“2 for 1 Cheeky V’s?” Minni asks him, grinning. “Mate, it sounds lush, but if it was down to that I’d rather go straight for some Beck’s.”

 _Did she just call him ‘mate’?_ Marisol thinks as she squints, getting more confused by seeing her talking about beer right after. By seeing her acting like that, it wouldn’t surprise her if Minni tanks down her chances with the boys immediately, which she expects to happen as it would be an advantage for her to crack on with Gary. She follows the younger girl with her eyes as she gets closer to him, who has his lips upturned in a bright and surprised smile. Marisol stares at them, perplexed.

Gary is chuffed— he would’ve never guessed Minni was into beer, because she looks like she only drinks fruity cocktails and bubbly champagne. This girl is full of surprises and he can’t wait to get to know her more.

“You’re a girl of the world, I see,” he tells her, wrapping his big arm around her and pulling her for a cuddle. “Now I’m worried that I’ll have a hard time keeping up with you.”

He winks at her and she chuckles as a response, making him happy. He’s starting to think that he wouldn’t complain if he had so stick with her for the rest of the summer, to be honest.

Marisol winks at the pair. “What a revelation. I can’t wait to see what else we’re going to find out about each other.”

Minni is about to reply something to her, when she feels Gary’s phone vibrating next to her leg.

“It’s me!” the blond says. “Guys! I got a text!” he exclaims, louder than he actually has to.

<Islanders, it’s time to find out who’s hot under the collar, and who’s playing it cool. Head over to the fire pit to play a game of Truth or Dare.>

“This is my game, you guys! Let’s go!” Hope jumps.

Minni smiles, hyped for the challenge already, when she feels Gary’s thumb caressing her shoulder lightly to get her attention. She looks up at him, his blond hair shining with the warm Spanish sunlight.

“Ready?” she asks him, with a playful expression.

“Mate, I’m always ready.”

**In the daybeds – Afternoon.**

When the Truth or Dare challenge is over, Minni goes straight up to chill in the daybeds, all by herself. It had been thrilling, but so much had happened that she needed a minute to take it all in. She outed herself as bisexual in front of everyone, sent a funny selfie to Gary, received a not so pleasant tongue drawing in her belly by Rocco and, to top it all off, Gary had pecked her lips after pulling out a card that clearly said ‘kiss the Islander who you fancy the most’. She was not complaining about the peck, though, but she doesn’t want to call it their first kiss— she didn’t exactly consider it as such, as it had been part of a dare and in front of everyone. Nonetheless, she is happy that he admitted to fancying her the most out of all the other girls.

It’s a beautiful day, she notices as she looks around the Villa. The afternoon sunshine glints on the pool and the bushes surrounding the lawn are starting to cast slim shadows over the grass. She can see Marisol and Hannah chatting on the lawn, and some of the boys have already started working out in the gym. She wishes she could take a closer look at Gary from where she is, but she is far away and just distinguishing silhouettes and bodies over the machines.

The girl is just lying back and putting her sunglasses on when she hears a voice next to her.

“Hey, Minni.”

She turns to see Bobby standing awkwardly next to the daybed. He is looking at her with a sheepish smile.

“Fancy a quick chat? I’m sure Gary won’t mind,” he asks, hoping it doesn’t look too weird for the girl.

The truth is, he isn’t sure if Gary will mind, because he barely knows him. It’s just an excuse to initiate the conversation in a nice way. Actually, Bobby came here planning to ask her if he would be a guy she could be interested in, but once he gets here, his mind goes blank and now he doesn’t know how to word his phrases. He truly doesn’t want to come too strong on her, especially because things seem to be going well between her and Gary and he doesn’t want to look like a knob who just wants to get in the middle. But he fancies her, ever since he saw her standing up in front of all of the boys this morning, so he has to take the shot.

She nods kindly and he flops down beside her, relieved that she didn’t say ‘no’ straight away. _This is a good start_ , he reckons.

“If you didn’t come here to apologize for your awful joke at the Recoupling, then I don’t wanna hear it,” she says, flipping her hair comically and faking annoyance, in a very obvious diva imitation, which makes Bobby cackle with laughter. He wonders if she is imitating any of the other girls.

“That’s not happening. I’m standing my ground,” he responds, following the banter.

“Is that so?” Minni raises an eyebrow, defiantly. She notices that he is quite nervous, but doesn’t say anything because she’s looking forward to finding out what was that thing she felt when they first met.

Bobby tries to fight a smile, feeling heat creeping to his cheeks. “As I said, I don’t like competition. So you better don’t couple up with me.”

 _Ouch._ He scolds himself internally. This always happens to him when he meets pretty girls; he starts babbling out words, jokes or phrases without thinking and ends up saying something that could be misinterpreted.

Much to his surprise, Minni laughs. “Is that your way of saying that I’m more attractive than you?”

Bobby cringes internally. “Um, yeah?”

“Well, thank you,” she laughs again, taking the compliment graciously. She always notices when she’s in front of a guy who doesn’t know how to flirt, but honestly she doesn’t mind. Although she prefers them cheeky and kind of confident, she thinks there’s nothing wrong when someone stumbles upon words, goes blank or says something weird that ends up sounding terrible– he doesn’t have bad intentions, after all. Bobby has been trying to be nice to her so far, and that’s all that matters to her. “So, how are you finding all of this?” she asks, interested. “The challenge left me absolutely knackered.”

“I quite enjoyed the toes bit, to be honest,” he jokes, his limbs feeling less heavy as she moved past his awkward statement.

Minni cringes at the thought and hits his arm with a pillow. “Of course you did, you weirdo.”

“At least I didn’t have Rocco’s tongue on my stomach,” he grimaces, and the brunette follows.

“Don’t even mention that. That guy is almost as bold as you,” she tells him.

Bobby quirks an eyebrow. “Honestly, I’m not usually this forward,” he sighs.

“Really?” Minni’s expression softens, seeming to be taken aback by his honesty. She knew that he was nervous, but she thought it was just because of this moment, and not that he was _always_ like this.

“You’ll see…” he begins, sheepishly. He starts talking right away about how shy he feels speaking to girls and how insecure he sometimes can be. He knows that is strange to start saying all this stuff from the get-go, especially because he has never done it before, but Minni inspires trust in him, and he wants her to _understand_ where he’s coming from.

After listening to him, she starts giving him good advice, as she doesn’t seem to feel frightened by the thought of having to flirt. Later, the conversation drifts onto lighter, more fun and even wacky topics, with Bobby feeling so comfortable talking to Minni that all of the tension in his body fades away. They bond over memes, pop culture references, movies and even cooking recipes. She’s one of the most reassuring people he’s ever met and she’s so easy to talk to and so receptive that he feels that he can tell her anything right away. Despite this, his early crush on her seems to die down, and he starts looking at her more as a friend, a confident, a _little sister_ , rather than someone who crack on with. He feels less nervous this way, which is nice.

When talking to Bobby for so long, Minni comes to the conclusion that what she felt clicking with him at the beginning of this day wasn’t nearly something romantic. It was _fraternity_ , somewhat a tingling feeling that let her know that they would get along very fine. She has only had this kind of chats this quick with her best guy mates back home; this brings her a sense of familiarity that is quite comforting.

“That reminds me of this meme…” the brunette chuckles. “Have you seen that pic of Bear Grylls’ face, when he got stung by a bee?” she laughs.

“And they compare him to Benedict Cumberbatch?” Bobby adds, starting to cackle too as the pic appears in his mind.

“Yes!” she exclaims, beaming between giggles. “And then—"

She’s suddenly interrupted by the sound of a phone somewhere in the Villa, followed by Marisol yelling from a distance.

“Text! Guys, I got a text!”

Minni stands up, excited, and pulls the Scottish’s arm. “Let’s go, Bobs!”

He smiles at her enthusiasm, following her to where the rest of the Islanders are. This chat has been so refreshing to him that he has the sensation that he’s walking on clouds. And as for Minni, she feels new energy inside of her as she now has someone who talk to about anything, hoping this dynamic lasts for as long as they stay in the Villa.

All of the Islanders gather around as Marisol starts reading. <Islanders, tonight there will be a welcome party. Please get ready to say hi to a very special guest! #drinksonus, #droppingthebombshell.>

“Amazing! A party!” Hope says.

Minni smiles, hoping there will be some good drinks to spend her time on. She always likes to get tipsy before starting to dance and having fun, something she’s not too proud of or likes to admit out loud. She catches Gary’s eyes, who offers her a smile.

“Does that mean another girl is coming in here?” Lottie questions.

All the girls look at each other, suddenly worried.

Minni catches Noah looking over at Hope. “Or it could be another guy…”.

Just then, the blue-eyed girl’s gaze goes to Bobby, who’s face falls.

**At the lawn – Nighttime.**

“Oi, oi! Here they are,” Gary calls, as all of the girls walk out of the Villa. He tries to disguise his grin as he sees Minni all dressed up, wearing a shimmery light pink mini dress and impressively high heels.

Once she takes a look at him, she gives him a smile. She would’ve never guessed that a tough looking lad like Gary would actually use a cozy flannel and wear thick optical frames. She wonders how bad his vision could be to prefer them instead of contacts.

“Some of these guys were getting impatient,” Ibrahim tells them.

Bobby steps forward and points at Rocco with his thumb. “Yeah, especially Mr. La La Land over there.”

“What?” he asks.

Minni gets lost in thought, as she smooths her dress. She thinks about everything that has happened so far, and how good things are going with Gary, getting mildly nervous of the fact that there’s a chance that a new girl could be arriving tonight, and this mixes with the inevitable excitement that it could also be a new boy.

She told the girls in the dressing room that she didn’t mind another girl coming to the Villa, and despite her nervousness she was telling the truth. Minni has always been a friendly person and would never slander another girl just because she got to enter after they are all coupled up. But the girls were right in one thing: if it’s a girl, she will probably be hotter than any of them so far, with her entering later bound to turn heads and break couples right away.

The Cantabrigian is so submerged in her thoughts that she misses Rocco’s blatant attempt to flirt with her by trying to talk about constellations and stargazing.

“It’s silly, really,” her attention goes back to the conversation when she feels Gary’s hand graze her arm. “A shipyard at night is just as nice as the stars.”

Minni looks at him and sees him smiling down at her with soft features.

“Bold of you to say, being coupled with an astrophysics student,” Marisol instigates. “I’m sure she likes stars more than most things.”

Before Minni can say something, she turns to stare at him and all she can see is his face falling and his eyes showing shame. Gary remembers the countless times he has asked his previous girls to go on a shipyard date with him and got rejected— they told him ‘no’ so many times he stopped trying a long time ago. He doesn’t even know why he brought up the idea now in the first place.

“No worries, no-one ever wants to go look at a shipyard with me,” he says, honestly.

“A shipyard?” Minni asks him, interested.

His face lights up a little. “Yeah. There’s this park near where I grew up and you can sit out on the hill at night and look at the docks. You can’t see any stars, obviously, because of the smoke, so sorry to disappoint because I know how much you like them,” he explains to her. “But the lights on all the cranes are amazing at night. They’re all different colors and you can tell loads about what’s going on.”

The brunette appreciates Gary’s enthusiasm in a deep level, and genuinely thinks that it would be so different and so _new_ to go to a place so special to him as a date. She thinks it’s cute that he gets all excited about colored lights at night, not expecting that he would have this kind of soft and childish side inside of that tough, confident and bulky outside.

“I’d like to go,” she simply states.

Gary feels a warm feeling spreading across his chest and can’t contain the grin that gets drawn on his lips, despite knowing that there’s a small possibility that she could be bantering him.

“Really?” he asks Minni, almost with a child-like thrill.

“Sure. Why not? If you like it so much, it’s gotta be a great view,” she responds honestly, with a soft smile and as her blue eyes twinkle by looking up at him. “You evidently have good taste, after all.”

The warmth on his chest creeps up to his face and a short laugh escapes his lips. This girl is dangerously giving him a run for his money when it comes to cheekiness, and he enjoys it so much that he doesn’t even mind. He can’t help but to think that Dicky is going to die from laughter when he watches this on the telly. He always cracks up when a bird manages to leave Gary out of words.

“Oi, you’re so cheeky, you,” he digs his finger on her cheek. Minni giggles.

Hope rolls her eyes like she’s bored.

“Um… sorry to interrupt, because this is _riveting_ , but I think I’m starting to see why some of you are single,” she speaks. “I was expecting better chat than ‘come look at a shipyard with me, baby’.”

Gary purses his lips, embarrassed again, his blue orbs darting at Minni. She simply shrugs at him, as a silent way of reassurance.

“Right?” Lottie agrees. “What happened to the old classics?”

All the Islanders begin a cluster of bad and cheesy pickup lines, with Minni managing to slide one of her bests to Gary.

“Are you a Star Wars fan? Because Yoda one for me,” she says, winking comically, obviously not taking the situation too seriously.

Gary’s head falls back as he chuckles, nudging her shoulder. He’s liking this girl more and more as he spends more time with her, and he can’t believe it. Who would’ve thought this first day would be so good? He might have met his perfect match already, though he knows it is early days and anything could happen. He tries to play it cool the entire night, even making a small round of jokes all by himself after Minni simplifies his quality humor as ‘dad jokes’ just to wind him up, including a silly gravity one just for her to enjoy. His round of standup gets interrupted by a text, received by Hannah.

<Islanders, please go to the fire pit and get ready to meet your new arrival. #newarrival #turnuptheheat.>

While the Islanders make their way to the fire pit, Gary takes the chance to pull Minni for a chat. He knows that it is important to ask her where her mind’s at, as he felt that it was a bit of tension when they kissed in the challenge. He wants to make sure that she wants to try things with him as much as he wants to try things with her, but at the same time he wants to take things slow. Gary doesn’t like to rush things, especially when it comes to committing to a girl.

They meet near the outdoors kitchen and, after making sure that she didn’t feel uncomfortable for the whole situation –to his relief, she doesn’t think that the peck was a big deal—, he asks the big question.

“Can I ask you, now that we’re in private…” he starts, the girl’s blue eyes scanning his features. “Where’s your head at? What are you thinking about you and me?”

“Honestly?” Minni asks him.

Gary just nods, his pulse starting to pick up in pace.

“I’m… I’m thrilled,” she smiles. “We clicked right away. It’s insane.”

“I’m glad you said that,” Gary can barely hide his excitement, her words threatening to bring down the cool façade he has managed to maintain during the entire night. “I think we’ve got a good connection so far. We’re clicking, you’re saying the right stuff, you seem like my type on paper. But…”

“It has only been a day,” she finishes his sentence. She has also felt that they could be going in too strong on each other, despite knowing it’s inevitable considering how easy things seem to be going between them.

“Exactly. I… I want to get to know everyone in here,” he explains.

Minni nods. “Same here,” she responds. “Has anyone else caught your eye so far?”

“I—”

They get interrupted by the sound of Lottie calling them from the distance. “Whenever you two lovebirds are ready…”

Both share a look, noticing that the rest of the Islanders are waiting for them, staring from the fire pit. Minni feels some blush climbing to her cheeks from embarrassment, so she finishes the chat just by patting Gary’s upper arm and sauntering towards the group. He follows, letting out a sigh.

As soon as they reach the fire pit, they turn around at the sound of clicking stilettos on stone.

“Hi, everyone!” the new girl— _woman_ , keeps walking towards them with a charming smile. Gary’s jaw drops.

 _She’s so hot_ , Minni thinks, totally wishing she looked like her. She’s tall, curvy and has a nice tan, skin shining with golden body glitter. Her dark eyes make a stunning contrast with her straightened velvet red hair. All of her clothing looks expensive and elegant, so she comes as impressively glamorous too. Minni’s eyes go down to her own boobs, insecure; she’s a cup A. If she attempted to wear a dress like that, first, it would fall off her chest because there’s nothing it can hold on to, and second, she would have to cut almost half of the skirt, so she doesn’t trip over because of the excess of fabric.

Now she gets why such an astounding woman had to enter last, as she notices the boys’ reactions. Rocco whistles under his breath and it looks like Bobby’s eyes are going to fall out of his sockets. Ibrahim bites the inside of his cheek and Gary gulps, their eyes not leaving her. Honestly, she can’t blame them. She fancies girls too and the new girl has blown her mind already.

“My name is Priya. I’m so excited to meet you all,” the woman continues.

“I guess we’re the welcoming committee!” Bobby says, standing up. Minni sincerely hopes he manages to use some of the tricks she taught him earlier.

“Come on, boys” Gary seconds, following the lads.

They all gather around Priya to introduce themselves. Minni is about to follow when Hannah grabs her arm for support, still with a shocked expression on her face.

“It’s a new girl!” she tells her, worried. “And she’s beautiful. Ugh.”

“ _Just_ beautiful? She’s one hundred out of ten, if not more.” Minni’s eyes check her out again, trying not to bite her lip. “I don’t know about you, girls, but now I feel like a… trashcan. Like the less important trashcan out of all the trashcans of the street, the one in which they don’t even throw rubbish in because of how unnoticeable it is.”

Lottie gives her a puzzled glare, kind of confused by how weird this girl can be sometimes. “Look at those boys, all swarming around her. You’d think they hadn’t just met five gorgeous women today already.”

“You sound jealous. Are you worried about Rocco?” Marisol asks Lottie.

Minni stops paying attention to the conversation to focus on Bobby. He is talking enthusiastically to Priya, but it seems like she just wants him to stop. The blue-eyed girl rolls her eyes; not even a minute in and he is mucking up his chances already. She makes a mental note to remind herself to pull him for a chat if she has the opportunity, to nag him for not enforcing anything that she taught him this afternoon.

“Minni?”

She turns her sight back to the girls. “Huh?”

“I was asking if you girls feel jealous,” Lottie says, eyeing her.

The brunette shrugs. “Honestly, she’s so stunning that if she stole Gary from me I’d thank her,” she jokes.

“Careful what you wish for, hun,” Marisol purses her lips.

“You’re right,” Minni replies, getting more serious. “I’m not a jealous person, in general. I don’t rate jealousy at all, so I’m not jealous towards my partner either. If he wants to get to know her, fine by me. I also want to get to know the rest of the boys too. Besides, if a boy is willing to move on that quickly, why keeping him around in the first place?”

“You’re so right. I don’t really mind Bobby going to chat to her either,” Hannah says. “I don’t think we’re right for each other anyway.”

She zones out again, her gaze landing on Gary. It looks like he’s trying to take the lead over the boys, directing the conversation. He points to different places of the Villa with his hands, maybe explaining to Priya where all of the important things are. Once the new girl turns to speak to Ibrahim, his blue, twinkling eyes meet Minni’s from the distance. She offers him a lighthearted smile and he reciprocates, the muscles of his broad back relaxing a little.

Her vision of him is interrupted by the silhouettes of Hope and Marisol walking towards the group. Minni’s attention goes back to Lottie and Hannah, who are still at the fire pit.

“Where are they going?”

“To meet the new girl,” Lottie rolls her eyes.

She is about to add something more, expecting to convince Minni to remain in the fire pit with her and Hannah, but the young woman jumps to her feet quickly.

“Marisol, Hope, wait for me!” Minni jogs to join them, and the three walk together in a straight line to where Priya and the boys are, leaving Lottie and Hannah whispering to each other.

**In the daybeds – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdhDj971H3g)**

Minni is sitting cross-legged on a daybed, looking at the view. She did her best to be friendly to Priya, even trying to get Hannah and Lottie to come over in the less noticeable way she could, until Bobby not-so-subtlety blew her cover. The whole party turned out to be alright, but there weren’t any drinks, so it didn’t escalate into something more than a chatty reunion, and everyone decided to put on their pajamas and prepare for their first night at the Villa.

The blue-eyed girl is getting lost in thought, her eyes going up to analyze the constellations above her, when Gary sits down beside her. After all that Priya debacle, she felt like she needed some time alone, but is glad that he came here to make her company. She still feels a little uneasy after the new girl admitted having her eye on him, but it all washes away when he moves closer to her. Minni unconsciously grins at the sight of him; the fairy lights of the Villa make his bare torso look more chiseled, giving his skin a honey-like glow.

“Hey gorgeous.”

“And hello to you, too,” he responds with a lighthearted tone. He makes a pause to stare at the lawn, trying to think of the correct words so he doesn’t mess up things right away. “It looks like everyone’s getting ready for bed,” he begins. “And, as it’s our first night as a couple… I was thinking about what you said earlier about wanting to get to know each other better. And I thought, there’s one way I know that’s great for that.”

An involuntary smile spreads across the girl’s face when she understands where he’s coming from, her cheeks turning pink.

“How do you feel about sharing a bed tonight?” Gary finishes.

Minni looks at him behind her long and thick eyelashes. “I’m looking forward to it,” she responds, with a flirty tone.

The man chuckles. “I’m so glad you said that!” he breathes deeply. “I was so much more nervous that I was expecting!”

Gary smiles, and edges closer to her. A cool breeze drifts over the lawn, and both shiver slightly.

“You look amazing tonight. I just want to say that. I’m really glad we’re coupled up,” he whispers, staring at her eyes. He’s not nervous anymore, Minni’s receptiveness and flirty demeanor having washed out all of his uneasiness and insecurity in an instant.

Minni tries to play it cool, despite that she is really getting those first night vibes, and they haven’t even got into the bedroom yet. She senses something sparking in the thin, cool air between them as their blue gazes meet. She studies Gary’s eyes intently and wonders how such an icy color can transmit so much warmth. Quietly shifting herself closer to him, she brushes her nose up against his cheek.

“Hey…” he murmurs, his voice suddenly deeper.

“Hey,” the girl answers.

Gary isn’t sure if it is the release of the tension of his first day at the Villa, the mellow hum of the cicadas harmonizing with the chirping crickets or the beauty of the bright stars above them, but he feels _different_. There’s something stirring deep within the core of his body, urging him to move, to get even closer. Everything he planned about taking things slow with her goes to hell and, before he realizes what he is doing, he is already leaning forward and pressing his lips against Minni’s.

The kiss starts gentle and slow as both try to take their time to register in their brains what is happening, but instead they just seem to be exploding from quick bursts of endorphins. Minni runs her small hands up Gary’s strong back, across his broad, sculpted shoulders and lets them rest comfortably on his nape. Gary’s body is robust, warm and _confident_ — she thinks he’s gorgeous in every sense of the word.

His thumb strokes right below her bottom lip for just a moment before it is caressing her cheek, the pad soft and just slightly calloused. The brunette’s hands go up his neck then, and into his blond, thick locks as she pulls him closer if possible. She can feel the tender grazing of Gary’s stubble on her face while she parts his lips with her tongue. He reciprocates right away and the kiss deepens.

They explore each other for the first time, tongues twirling frantically amongst their hot breathing, the sounds around them vanishing. Gary could’ve never predicted that this is where his first day at the Villa would’ve ended up, but there is no way he is complaining. There he is, kissing the one of most beautiful birds he’s ever seen; and he’s not exaggerating. A rush of adrenaline flows through him at the sudden realization that all of this could be more than that. The Chathamite hasn’t had butterflies in his stomach, or felt a burning passion like this with anyone for the longest time, and has struggled to find it even more after being burned. He has missed this feeling, which without doubt wasn’t present in all this past months’ meaningless hookups. And he had many. He hopes he isn’t feeling like this just because he’s just entered a reality show, he hopes that thrill isn’t interfering in what he is experiencing _now_.

An involuntary moan escapes his throat as Minni’s tongue sweeps across his lower lip. He places his hand flat on her lower back to move her closer, a faint smell hitting his nose— she smells like raspberries. Her figure, her subtle curves and smooth skin are amazing to the touch, as she isn’t muscular of buff, neither busty nor too curvy, she is lean, tiny and overall just soft. She feels like fresh, clean and sweet-scented bedsheets between his arms. She feels _light pink_. And, to top that, she’s a really good kisser. He gets distracted from that thought by the sensation of her smiling onto the kiss.

Minni is having fun, the most fun she’s had in ages with a boy. The girl never expected Gary’s touches to be so affectionate and gentle, as most muscular blokes she’s kissed were tenacious, stiff and relied on toughness and dominance. But Gary’s fingers graze her like if she was a _flower_ , his lips puffy and his tongue reciprocating every inviting lick, every delicate brush and every playful flick. If she’s had better kisses than this one before, she can’t remember any of them as of now.

As their lips part, she opens her eyes to see Gary looking back at her.

“I should have guessed you were a good kisser,” he whispers.

She smiles cheekily. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

He wraps his arms around her and grins. “As first kisses go, that was a cracker.”

She shakes his head at his honesty, her cheekbones hurting already from smiling so much. Gary’s eyes don’t leave her face as he runs his hand up her arm, giving her goosebumps. After collecting her thoughts for a moment, she turns her gaze to meet his again, and he smiles warmly.

“So there are going to be more?” she teases, her own hands going down to his upper arms, caressing his muscles, until she places them comfortably over his biceps.

Gary gives her a cheeky wink. “If you’re lucky.”

“If _you_ are lucky, Rennell,” she corrects. “You’re being optimistic.”

He laughs shortly. “That’s the thing about first kisses, isn’t it? Makes you hopeful,” he tells her, his nose grazing hers.

Minni suddenly finds herself short of breath at the sweetness in the simplicity of his words. She feels almost drunk by having him this close for so much time— she comes to the conclusion that she didn’t even need alcohol tonight to have that sensation. Being inches away from Gary, their bodies pressed together and feeling his breath tickle her skin is good enough, even better, she would dare to think.

A moment of comfortable silence follows, the humidity of the Spanish climate starting to settle in. The crickets and cicadas continue with their usual chorus and the breeze is still blowing the same, as if nothing has changed, when the reality is, Gary feels like _everything_ has changed for him already.

“I can’t believe we kissed on the first night,” he chuckles to himself.

From across the lawn, they hear the faint sound of a phone beeping.

“Guys, come over here!” Priya calls. “I got a text!”

Minni and Gary look at her from where they are sitting, while she walks to the middle of the lawn so everyone can hear her reading the message. <Priya, tomorrow you will get to choose one of the boys to couple up with, leaving one of the girls single and vulnerable. #achallengerappears #girlcode.>

“I knew it!” Lottie complains.

Minni rapidly turns her attention to Gary and notices his baby blue eyes losing brightness. He sets his jaw and scans her face with his sight in silence, in an attempt to decipher how upset she is, remembering that Priya said earlier that she fancies him. Minni looks mainly unfazed, although the corners of her lips are slightly turned upside down.

“You worried?” he asks her.

She shakes her head, dismissing him. “Let’s talk about this tomorrow. I don’t want my night ruined.” The girl wiggles out of his arms and stands up, extending her hand to him. “Come on, let’s go get our beauty sleep. Not that you need it, anyway,” she winks.

**In the bedroom – Later at night.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX1xm95htPo)**

It doesn’t take much time for them to settle onto a bed. Minni is already tucked in, slightly curled into a ball, when Gary gets out of the bathroom and heads straight to where she is. He quietly lifts the duvet to get in, his weight sinking the mattress impressively as he lies on his side. Just now the girl realizes how heavy this guy must be— hopefully he doesn’t crush her accidentally during the night.

Both lie on their sides, facing each other. Heavy snoring can be heard from a few beds away. Minni tries to stifle a laugh.

“Would you like to know the perfect way to wrap up this day?” Gary smiles at her.

Minni’s face blushes wildly, and she thanks the darkness and his poor vision that he won’t be able to notice. She doesn’t know if she would be able to resist if this hunk offers her to go all the way, even though she knows the most rational response would be saying no.

“What’s on your mind?” she asks, luckily not stuttering.

His eyes glimmer. “A good cuddle,” he states.

The girl can’t contain a smirk at his innocence. Nevertheless, she’s more than glad to comply.

“That sounds like a great idea.”

The man beams. For him, the best part of sharing a bed with a bird is cuddling, preferably with all of their clothes off, but it’s too early for that. He is more than content that Minni actually said yes. He shifts and both move until they find a position comfortable enough to the both of them. His head ends up settled restfully between her shoulder blades, his stubble tickling her exposed skin, arms around her waist and legs tangled.

The heat coming from him is impressive, he is pretty much like a living furnace. Minni places her arms over his, their fingers intertwining shyly. Not much time passes before she can hear him faintly snoring behind her, the rumbling of his chest echoing in her lower back. She feels so small wrapped in his muscular arms; he engulfs her like a cozy, fluffy blanket. She smiles and sinks deeper into the embrace, but she never manages to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic has been lighthearted so far and everything seems to be going too well for our Islanders, but you guys know who is Priya going to recouple with, and, not to spoil or anything, but things go downhill from there. like major downhill, so stay with me. and i know Minni seems pretty much like a goody two-shoes, bubbly character, but i assure you that this girl is layered af and you'll notice that in the future ;) there's a glimpse of that in this chapter, so props to you if you caught it. until next time❤


	3. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I really don’t want Priya to choose me tonight,” he thinks out loud.  
> He hates having to ruin this moment, but he has to let her know how he feels about it. He can feel Minni’s body stiffen a bit, so his hand rapidly finds a way to the back of her head. He starts running his fingers across her brunette waves, in an attempt to soothe her. He knows they’re on the same page, because he remembers hearing Minni telling Priya that she believed they were a strong couple, but wanted to take things slow. He couldn’t have agreed more, and would hate to get separated from her just when he is starting to get to know her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys♥ this is the last exposition chapter, i promise lol. drama is looming already and things will start to get more confusing for our main characters. also, the music is extra dramatic in this chapter haha. i hope you like it ;)

**Day 2**

**In the bedroom – Early morning.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg-QTiiUXok)**

It’s still dark when Gary opens his eyes. He is confused at first, not knowing where he is right away, and the darkness surrounding him doesn’t help either. His dazed blue eyes dart to the ceiling above him and he perceives faint colored neon lights with the corner of his eye. The blond stirs, just to feel a light weight over his left arm. Just then, memories from yesterday, from last night, flood his mind rapidly like if it was an empty fountain getting filled with water. He blinks, seeing Minni by his side, curled up and using his bicep as a pillow. His arm feels numb.

Gary tries to move his hand to relieve the numbness, and his heart skips a beat when Minni opens her eyes right away because of his movement. It almost looks like she wasn’t sleeping at all.

“Morning,” she whispers with a soft voice.

Her eyes seem to glow despite the dim light of the room. He is left speechless, his mind foggy because of slumber. The only thing his body manages to do is to respond with a smile, while attempting to move his arm once again. The girl takes the sign and shifts her head to the pillow, still lying on her right side to face him. Gary lets out a tired groan and rubs his eyes before turning to his left side, regaining sensation in his arm.

His heart thumps fast in his chest when he realizes how close they are; he hopes Minni doesn’t notice. From this distance, he can see all the tiny freckles that adorn her cheekbones and nose, which resemble small stars on her light skin. He can also see the detail of her big blue eyes— they’re bright cobalt blue, darker in the center and lighter towards the edges and finishing with a darker ring all around the iris. The color distribution is odd, special. And they’re so big that it’s hard for Gary to focus his attention on something else.

“How are you?” he murmurs.

Minni snuggles onto the pillow, her sight not leaving his face. “Chill,” she answers with a small smile. “And you?”

Gary can’t help but to grin at her answer. “Chill...” he thinks out loud. “I like that,” he chuckles. “I’m alright. Slept well?”

She just shrugs as a response. Gary gets suddenly worried.

“Did I wake you up? I tend to toss and turn sometimes and…” He stops speaking when she giggles quietly.

“Mate, you slept like a sack of potatoes,” she states. “If it wasn’t for your snoring, I would’ve thought you were dead.” Minni makes a pause, a mischievous grin on her pink lips. “Plus, you hiccup a lot.”

The man blushes wildly from embarrassment. “Oh, man,” he sighs. “Really?”

“Yeah, but it’s alright. I think it’s cute,” the girl extends a hand to brush some hair away from his forehead. A content hum escapes Gary’s throat. He would never admit it out loud, but one of his weaknesses is when people play with his hair.

“What time is it, anyway?” he asks.

“5.30am, last time I checked,” she says.

 _Last time she checked?_ Gary questions.

Minni makes sure to speak before he can ask her about it. “It’s too early. I think we should go back to sleep.”

“Right,” he agrees, not thinking much of it.

Minni looks into his eyes once more, planning to turn around and close her eyes right away. But it just takes her a second to see the word ‘cuddle’ practically written in his pupils. She smiles. Silently, she extends her arms and lets Gary snuggle closer to her, until her head is resting on his chest. He places a hand on her back casually, his breathing slows down almost in an instant. He falls asleep in mere seconds, almost missing out the tickling feeling of Minni’s eyelashes against his skin as she blinks.

**In the kitchen – Morning.**

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how you make fancy omelets,” Bobby teases, peeking over her shoulder.

Minni raises an eyebrow. “You know what? Take over then, Mr. Gordon Ramsay,” she tells him, handing him the frying pan.

“My pleasure,” the Scottish bows, taking the frying pan with one hand and flipping the omelet impressively. “Come on, I’ll teach you some stuff, but I need extra ingredients.”

The girl smiles and starts looking for the ingredients he lists in the cupboards. Gary watches from the counter in silence, as he prepares two cuppas. He woke up not long ago, to find both of them plus Marisol hanging out in the kitchen. The girls were talking nonchalantly about uni life— teachers, papers and campuses, all that jazz, while Bobby was listening with attention. The chat died down seconds after Gary and Ibrahim arrived, everyone starting to mind their own business as they prepared themselves some breakfast.

Gary’s eyes roam across the kitchen. Marisol is preparing herself a coffee at the other side of the counter, Ibrahim is taking fruit out of a bowl and feeling it, trying to select one of them, and Bobby is next to the frying area, adding some spices to an omelet mixture. Finally, his sight lands on Minni.

There was a time in his life, long ago, when he thought he couldn’t find sexiness in a woman who didn’t have impressive breasts or a massive bum, and luckily he learned that such an idea was far from being true. And now he feels like it couldn’t get more debunked at the sight of her simply pacing around the kitchen in her PJ’s, her brunette and wavy locks all messy and cascading down her small shoulders; it surprises him to find himself thinking that she is the prettiest and hottest out of all of the girls in the Villa, including newcomer Priya. He can’t help but to remember last night’s kiss, the way her puffy lips crashed onto his and her tongue explored his mouth. His thoughts go to his own arms wrapped around her waist and her smooth, soft legs intertwined with his— he wishes he could go to her right now and kiss her again, then lower his lips to feel them against the skin of her neck.

There’s a hint of shame inside him as he realizes he’s already having somewhat dirty thoughts about a girl he’s just met a day ago. Despite this, he can’t avoid devouring her with his eyes as she casually passes by, one of the straps of her top falling off her shoulder. He rapidly finishes the two cuppas and heads straight to where she is.

“Bobby are you sure about adding this much pepper to it?” the girl asks, concerned.

“Trust me, you’re gonna love it,” he responds with a wink.

Minni shakes her head and sits on a stool, looking at Bobby work his kitchen magic. It impresses her how talented he appears to be, his hands deftly putting ingredient after ingredient, spice after spice. She gets distracted by a gentle tap on her shoulder.

She turns to see Gary holding two cups. He extends his hand with one of them towards her, sheepish.

“What’s this?” the girl asks, cradling the mug with her tiny hands.

“It’s me being an absolute gent and making you a cuppa,” Gary responds with a smile.

Her eyes glimmer. “Thank you, Gary.”

“Don’t mention it,” he says. “I didn’t add sugar or anything else though, because I don’t really know what you like.”

“No worries.”

Minni reaches from across the counter and grabs the sugar container. She takes a tablespoon and puts it in the cuppa, then another… and another, and another. Gary’s eyes go wide and he inevitably gasps. After that, he shakes his head in disbelief.

“That’s it. I wanna recouple,” he states, not really meaning it.

Minni knits her eyebrows together. “Why?”

“Mate, you just put—” he gestures exaggeratedly to the cuppa. “You just put _four_ tablespoons in there?”

She frowns at him, putting the sugar container back to its place.

“Yeah,” she stands up by herself, looking up to meet his shocked eyes. “I like my things sweet,” she picks up her cuppa proudly and heads to the frying area. “That’s why I picked you in the first place,” she winks.

Gary opens his mouth to shoot back a cheeky reply, but no words come out. Instead, he turns beetroot red, only to embarrass himself in front of her. Minni stifles a laugh when she notices.

Minutes pass, everyone preparing their meals in a silence that is interrupted by small talk here and there. After finishing what Bobby calls a ‘test-omelet’ for Minni to taste, he teaches her how to make them. Honestly, she thinks it’s one of the best things she has ever eaten, and can’t imagine how his cakes or cookies must look like if he manages to prepare such an elaborated dish just out of what they have in the pantry. Later on, Bobby and Minni end up making plenty of omelets for the two of them, Ibrahim, Marisol and Gary to share. Lottie joins them later, being woken up by the delicious smell.

Everyone tucks into their food, with Bobby earning lots of praises and compliments for his cooking. As soon as Minni finishes her cuppa, she stands up to get a glass of juice and when she gets back to the counter, she encounters what could be called the beginning of an argument.

“I’m telling you, fruit is the food that makes you less hungry after eating it,” Ibrahim states, chewing a green apple.

“Nah, mate, it’s definitely carbohydrates. Just wolf down a bunch of pasta and you’re done for the day,” Gary replies.

“What about cake?” Bobby asks.

“Carbohydrates? Man, those things make you even hungrier after eating them,” Ibrahim says, ignoring Bobby.

“I have to agree with Ibrahim on that, to be honest,” Marisol comments. “But fruit could never make you feel overstuffed either, right? You would have to eat like, a lot.”

“What about macaroni and cheese?”

“Bobby, those are still carbohydrates,” Lottie rolls her eyes.

“But the cheese…” he trails off, confused.

Minni just watches the conversation unfold, biting her tongue as to not comment on it. She knows the answer, but doesn’t want to look like a smarty-pants on front of all this people.

“That settles it. It’s carbohydrates,” Gary grins.

“It’s fruit,” Ibrahim insists. “Fiber is the best for you, bruv.”

Gary rolls his eyes and frowns with disgust. “Mate, fruit can play the skin flute.”

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” Marisol raises an eyebrow.

“It means that the answer is carbohydrates,” the blond man winks, cocky.

At this point, Ibrahim is starting to get annoyed. “It’s fiber.”

“Are you sure cheese is—?” Bobby tries to ask, but gets interrupted by Gary.

“Carbohydrates.”

“Fiber!”

Minni huffs. “You’re both in the wrong,” she comments, her voice calm. Both men shut up and turn to look at her, expecting her to explain, so she does after letting out a sigh. “You’ll see, fiber is the food that gets processed the faster by the acids of the stomach, so it gets digested quickly and, therefore, you get hungry the sooner.”

“Aha!” Gary smirks at Ibrahim, rubbing it in his face. The golfer scowls.

“But carbohydrates are also digested fast because of their high content of glucose, the essential molecule that the cells break down in order to get energy,” Minni continues.

Then, Gary sulks, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Ibrahim gives him a smug look.

“What’s the answer, then?” Marisol asks, interested. She knew Minni was a smart cookie, from the chat they had earlier in the morning, but never expected her to know so much about something non-space or non-math related. Besides, she is itching to listen to what she has to say, as smart girls have always piqued her interest.

“Protein,” Minni smiles.

There’s an uncomfortable silence, the Islanders expecting her to start elaborating. She doesn’t take the hint.

“So…” Lottie presses.

She blinks. “Well, here’s how it works. Once the food gets to your stomach, just a little of it trespasses the sphincter that separates the stomach from the intestines, and gets sensed by chemoreceptors that determine the nature of it, with it being that if it’s a fatty food, protein, fiber, carbohydrates, and so on,” the young woman starts explaining.

By hearing her speak, Gary starts feeling this heart thumping faster and faster in his chest, his skin feeling warmer. He bites the inside of his lip, enjoying the way in which she gestures with her hands and her face lights up while she develops her idea. He could look at her talking the entire day, but he also gets overwhelmed by the impulse to kiss her hard right now.

“Then, those chemoreceptors send signals to the stomach, to make sure the food stays in there the time it needs to get processed, and the proteins are the ones who need more time to break into smaller molecules, in simple words. As they need to spend more time in contact with the acids, it gives the body the sensation that your stomach is full for a longer time than the rest of the foods,” she finishes, nonchalantly. “You know what I mean?”

“You lost me at the chemoreceptor part,” Bobby pouts. “But I reckon that you’re right,” he smiles.

“Sounds pretty scientific to me,” Gary grins, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses.

Lottie raises an eyebrow, curious. “How come you know so much about biology? Aren’t you studying astronomy or something like that?”

“Astrophysics,” Marisol corrects. “We were actually talking about this kind of things earlier on. Tell them, Minni.”

The girl takes a bite of her omelet before answering. She takes a moment to respond as she swallows. This isn’t a topic she wanted to address with so many people around, but everyone is looking at her expectant, so she decides to explain.

“I actually got into physiology first,” she explains. “I really liked it, but in the middle of the first semester I got super tired of it. Suddenly it wasn’t interesting for me anymore. I wasn’t exactly unhappy, though, so it’s kinda hard to explain.”

Gary looks at her with attention. “And what did you do, then?”

“This is gonna sound weird, but I had kind of an epiphany,” she chuckles. “There was this week where we were assigned to do crazy amounts of reports, so obviously I went to bed very very late. The night I was finishing some report about the TGF-alpha factor, I just... I got angry, I guess. I don’t know exactly what happened to me, but at some point I said to myself ‘You know what? Fuck it’, got up from my desk and went to my apartment’s balcony.”

The Islanders listen to her with attention.

“I got outside, looked up at the sky... and I thought ‘What am I doing here?’, you know?” she continues. “Like, I’m filling reports about microscopical chemicals and cells, when I could be absolutely marveling myself with the complexity of the vast Universe,” Minni smiles, inspired. “Next semester I was getting accepted to move to an astronomy degree at the same uni. After that I went straight into a masters in astrophysics.”

Gary smiles, the warm feeling in his chest extending gradually, just by seeing her all inspired and so happy with her choice. He wonders if she would be interested in sharing a chat about robotics and physics with him, but is scared to bring it up in front of everyone because he doesn’t want to look too nerdy. He knows, first handedly, that nerdiness scares most girls away.

“That’s a good story,” Bobby chimes.

Ibrahim and Gary nod, agreeing. Minni sighs with relief internally, glad that they didn’t get weirded out by her rant.

Marisol looks thoughtful. “But isn’t it hard to move careers right away? Even at the same uni?”

The blue-eyed girl chews some more of her breakfast. “I had a good record,” she simply says.

“You mean you graduated college with honors?” the other girl inquires.

Minni smiles shyly.

“So you like stars,” Lottie interrupts before the other girl can answer, gathering all the attention for herself. “Great, so do I.”

After hearing her, Minni opens her eyes wide, excited. “Really? What’s your favorite one?”

“Scorpius,” the Aussie responds, flipping her hair confidently.

“Babe, that’s an entire constellation,” Minni says, confused. She assumes that Lottie knows what she’s talking about. “But I get you, sometimes I can’t decide which one is more interesting. I mean, it contains bright star alpha Scorpii, star systems theta, nu, beta-1, xi and pi Scorpii, star tau Scorpii, and my favorite, theta Scorpii, the binary star,” the girl beams, not being able to contain her passion any longer. “Oh, and it also contains delta Scorpii, which I never understood why it’s referred to as ‘the forehead’, I mean…” she trails off.

The boys and Marisol share confused looks, but don’t stop her. Lottie rolls her eyes, almost wishing she never brought up the topic in the first place. Secretly, she’s fighting off a smile.

**In the daybeds – Noon.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnnKv9SyQgo)**

Gary slumps backwards and sighs. He has been waiting Minni for several minutes now, and he starts presuming that she went to the roof terrace to strategize with the girls about the Priya situation first. He doesn’t blame her; he is not always aware of all the drama going on, but he felt a lot of tension between Priya and Lottie this morning, so he guesses it’s a girl’s business that needs to get sorted out.

He’s glad that Minni is not one of those girls who engage in petty conflict, her kind demeanor never failing to impress him. She didn’t take sides even when it seemed that Lottie was pushing her to do so— she handled it like a champ, in his opinion.

He closes his eyes and relaxes a little, willing to wait a few more minutes. Just then, he feels weight settling onto the mattress.

“Hey,” Minni greets him.

Gary opens his eyes and smiles. “Hey, you,” he responds. “What took you so long? I was starting to get worried you wouldn’t come.”

Her smile falls. “Sorry, the girls were… you know,” she sighs.

“I can imagine,” he says, getting closer to her. That gesture manages to make her smile. “How’s your day been going so far?”

“Pretty great. Breakfast has been the best part, though,” Minni answers, trying not to bring out the topic about tonight’s Recoupling.

“Was it because of my blazing cuppa?” Gary asks, cheeky, knowing that it was actually because she got to talk about space stuff for minutes on end without nobody shutting her down. It was quite a show for him to see her all excited and chatty, as she is mainly a quiet bird, and he actually got to learn so much about the Scorpio constellation. Not that he memorized it all.

“Yeah, of course,” she winks at him. He chuckles.

When their eyes meet again, both get struck by the sudden sensation of tension building up. This daybed is a magical place, apparently. Minni feels her lips beginning to tingle, her eyes shifting to his mouth briefly. Gary swallows, doing the same.

“I quite enjoyed your start-talk this morning,” the man murmurs, his face getting closer, until his lips graze hers. They stay like that, breathing one another. “That’s what made breakfast the best part of my day so far.”

Minni bites her bottom lip briefly. “Really?”

“Really,” Gary whispers, right before leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers.

Their tongues find each other in an instant, heat growing between them. Minni’s hands fly to cup his strong jaw, his golden beard tickling her palms, and his hands run down her back and settle on her waist. Gary holds her firmly, the hair on the back of his neck standing up when he feels her gasp against his mouth. The girl follows his pace, which, contrary to yesterday, gets slower and slower as the seconds pass, with him taking his time to savor her lips like if they were made of honey.

Minni pulls away when she feels that she’s getting out of breath. “Now this has become my favorite part of the day so far,” she smiles, eyes still closed and just enjoying the moment, the closeness.

Gary gets actually surprised by himself when he finds out that he can’t decide if he’d rather listen to her talking about science again or kissing her like this. However, when her lips go back to him, not to his mouth but to the sensitive skin on his neck, it’s settled. He definitely prefers kissing her. This girl is going to be the death of him, and he feels like he couldn’t ask for a more delicious way to die.

He murmurs with pleasure as Minni begins kissing his neck. He nuzzles into her, his lips brushing against her collarbone. She can feel his breath against her skin as she runs her tongue up towards his ear. A shudder of pleasure goes through his body and he turns to face her. With her mind fuzzy from adrenaline, the girl leans into him for a long, lingering kiss and gently pulls away, teasing.

Gary looks at her, surprised. “No, no, don’t stop. I was enjoying that,” he mumbles, his thumbs drawing urgent circles on her waist.

After staring into his features for a moment, Minni giggles and leans in. Once she begins to nibble Gary’s earlobe, he lets out a moan, not being able to hold back. The girl squeezes her legs together as a reflex, the sound that she pulled from him sending tingles directly to the right places in her body. When she feels his firm grip around her waist tightening, she pulls away again. It takes a lot of willpower not to continue, but she doesn’t want things to escalate further, at least not here in the open.

“And that’s all for now,” she whispers into his ear.

“You’re killing me, woman,” he says, his eyes looking at her lips for a split second. “But what a way to go, eh?” He leans in and gives her a kiss on the cheek. “Next time will be my turn, promise.”

She chuckles and places her head on his chest, his arms still engulfing her small frame. Gary sighs at the coziness of their embrace. He almost forgets about tonight’s Recoupling.

“I really don’t want Priya to choose me tonight,” he thinks out loud.

He hates having to ruin this moment, but he has to let her know how he feels about it. He can feel Minni’s body stiffen a bit, so his hand rapidly finds a way to the back of her head. He starts running his fingers across her brunette waves, in an attempt to soothe her. He knows they’re on the same page, because he remembers hearing Minni telling Priya that she believed they were a strong couple, but wanted to take things slow. He couldn’t have agreed more, and would hate to get separated from her just when he is starting to get to know her. The brunette doesn’t say anything for a while.

“We could always recouple again,” she says, but doesn’t sound very confident on her own words. “If I don’t get kicked out or something.”

Now Gary feels his own body tensing at the thought. “You won’t, I’m sure. Most people here would be gutted if you went this soon.”

Minni takes a deep breath, not too convinced. She stays quiet again, and Gary doesn’t push her to speak because it’s evident that she wants to change the subject. He lifts his head upwards to stare at the lawn. Almost every Islander is there, all of them chatting.

He nudges the girl’s shoulder to get her attention. “How about we join them?” he smiles, trying to cheer her up.

“Sure,” she does her best to smile back, and it comes out very convincing. She doesn’t want him to know how nervous and uneasy she really feels.

**In the fire pit – Afternoon.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdT0xwiswfI)**

Minni’s eyes are lost in the sight of the flames kindling in the fire pit, the warm light making an ethereal contrast with the dark blue in her eyes. All around it, the Islanders are gathered in their couples. The mood feels subdued and anxious, and hers is no exception. Trying to focus on something else, she takes a look at the group. Hope’s expression is grim, she and Noah are clutching hands. Marisol and Ibrahim are whispering animatedly to one another, but she can’t really hear what they’re saying. Bobby and Hannah are sitting next to one another, in silence. She doesn’t want to cross sights with Gary.

Gary notices Minni tensing next to him, with this being the only thing it takes to clear his thoughts a bit. He turns to her, trying to figure out what she’s thinking, but her face is unreadable. In an attempt to find out, he reaches for her hand, his fingers slipping reassuringly between hers.

The girl knows that he is trying to reach out to her, but she can’t bring _those_ type of walls down just yet, not in this moment anyway. She has been used to restrain her own emotions since she was a child, and it had been of great help in this scenarios, during the management of a crisis. She performs well under pressure because of this, and she has also been proven of being able to help others through a crisis and make good decisions in these situations.

“If she picks me, we can still end up together again,” he repeats her words from before, making her inevitably look at him. “I don’t have to share a bed with her. We can pick each other next time we get,” he smiles.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” she sighs.

This doesn’t calm her internal twist of emotions, because this is not about losing Gary anymore. She doesn’t want to go home so soon, especially because she’s been having the time of her life since entering Love Island. She wants to get to know everyone, even if she doesn’t leave hand in hand with a partner. Plus, she’d feel humiliated for being the first one to go. She hates the thought that there’s a possibility that most of this men would pick a woman as hot as Priya over her in a heartbeat; Minni feels like she’s just a bubbly girl who knows how to flirt. She despises that every emotion happens to get amplified by being in here— she wonders if she’s exaggerating already.

Suddenly, they hear the sound of a door opening, and all the Islanders turn in unison.

“Here she comes,” Lottie announces.

Priya makes a dramatic entrance in a shiny silver sheath dress with a plunging neckline. Her beautiful, expensive-looking high heels tap ominously on the garden path. One of the Islanders gasps out loud as Priya takes her position at the fire pit, facing all of them.

“I never thought I’d be here in this position,” she starts.

“What position? Standing, giving a speech?” Bobby tries to lighten the mood, and Hope shushes him immediately.

“I want to thank everyone for being so welcoming when I entered the Villa,” Priya continues. “It wasn’t easy coming in as the new girl and having to catch up. Everyone has been so lovely, which made it even harder to make my decision. But I came to the Villa to find love, so… Even though someone might end up upset, I have to go with my heart.”

Gary clenches his jaw, already having a feeling that he won’t like what will come next. His thumb rubs anxiously the back of Minni’s hand.

“Minni, you’re a cool person, and so are you, Marisol and Hope,” the new girl says. All the girls mentioned share a quick look. “I really like everyone here, pretty much. This is really hard! So that’s why…”

Silence descends around the fire pit. In this very moment, Priya’s eyes meet Minni and she _knows_. She knows that she is going to say Gary’s name because of the way she looks at her, like if she was almost regretting it already. The blue-eyed girl puts her head down and prepares for the inevitable.

“The boy I want to couple up with is…”

Gary feels his heart skipping a beat, his jaw tense. Bobby and Ibrahim share a quick look. Hope squeezes Noah’s hand even more tightly, and closes her eyes.

“Gary.”

Minni’s hold on his hand immediately loosens, and he feels lost. He doesn’t know how to react, so he stays still, waiting for her to say something. Until she doesn’t, despite all eyes suddenly being on her.

Plenty of people back home would describe Minni as ‘calm’ and ‘chill’. If she’s upset, she won’t make a scene. If she’s sad, she will try not to cry in public. Most of the times, it’s just product of how she is— she’s a chill, laidback girl. But other times, as any other person who is very open on her positive feelings and bottles up their negative emotions, she will usually go to great lengths to ensure that no matter what she may be feeling or going through, she keeps her composure. It might be actually pleasant for those around her, who sometimes even admire her ability to keep her cool in any situation, but it also might be a result of her just trying very hard to restrain herself and her unwanted feelings. Now it just takes her a few seconds to put all of her anger, fears and frustration into one box inside her mind and seal it with duct tape, hoping it never opens again.

“I’m happy for you,” she says, her voice firm.

The rest of the Islanders share puzzled looks. Marisol raises an eyebrow, intrigued.

“It’s totally cool, you and Gary make a nice couple. I’m happy for you,” Minni repeats, fighting with her own facial muscles to accomplish a smile. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to be with him… right?” her last words come out tightened, almost blowing her cover.

Despite her calm reaction, which he absolutely rates, Gary feels his stomach churn. He feels that he should be chuffed that hot girl like Priya chose him, but deep down wishes he would’ve had more time with Minni. But this are the rules of the game he entered, and he knows them pretty well. This doesn’t feel right, but he doesn’t have a choice.

“This’ll take some time to get used to,” he mumbles.

He rises from his place at the fire pit, without being able to look back at Minni, and goes to stand at Priya’s side. She takes his hand. The truth is, Priya feels attracted to both Ibrahim and Gary equally since she arrived to the Villa, but what pushed her to ultimately choose Gary was the knowledge that Minni was less prone to make a scandal about it, less cancel her or something along those lines, because of what she saw this morning when Lottie tried to push her to take sides. Being with Gary is a less dangerous start than taking Ibrahim from Marisol, although she hates the idea of Minni being vulnerable because of her decision. She avoids looking at the girl at all costs, knowing than meeting her eyes will make her instantly regret what she did. At the end of the day, she went with her heart, but also with her mind, and she got the boy that she wanted.

Then, she pulls Gary away from the fire pit and some couples follow, everyone scattering across the Villa, leaving Minni sitting at the fire pit with Lottie and Hope to make her company. There’s just silence for a moment, until Hope opens her mouth to speak.

“Are you going to thank her now?” she comments, instigating. She’s obviously referring to Minni’s joke from yesterday.

The brunette just lowers her gaze, her easygoing mask crumbling a little. Because of her bottling up her emotions like that, she’s usually non-reactive to negative people. Her insides mostly tell her to let them have it and she does so. While this can diffuse volatile situation, it can also fester inside her, because most of the times she doesn’t say what she wants to say— just like this time.

“Shut up, Hope,” Lottie says, taking Minni’s hand for reassurance. She doesn’t like seeing the girl this tense, as it’s such a contrast with how bubbly and smiley she always is. She’s the soul of the group at this point and it feels like the mood of the whole Villa has come down with her.

“It was a _joke_ ,” Hope rolls her eyes.

“A very bad one,” the Aussie replies.

“Whatever,” Hope sighs, standing up to go and sit down next to the brunette. “I’m sorry this happened to you, babes, but everything will be alright. You’ll see.”

Minni just nods.

**In the daybeds – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quw8BHo6_20)**

It just takes a long drag on her cigarette to make her feel a little less anxious. In this moment, she is more thankful than ever that cigarettes are allowed in the Villa. She exhales, watching the smoke twirl in the air and float upwards until it disappears. She takes a drag again.

Minni knows smoking is a nasty, self-destructive habit, but she can’t help it. Back home, she always reaches a point where there are so many feelings and emotions boiling inside her that she needs something to help her deal with them, and after the Recoupling it seems that this will happen during her stay at the Villa too. She inhales the smoke, feeling it slightly warm up her lungs.

She actually managed to subtlety avoid Gary and Priya the entire night, choosing to hang out with Rocco and Bobby instead. She didn’t feel strong enough to face any of the two, or to talk openly about the Recoupling just yet, scared that she could blow up in any moment. So she closed off and dodged the topic whenever someone tried to ask her how she felt about it— she did a good job in her opinion, and she mentally pats herself on the back for it.

Playing it cool in front of everyone, especially the rest of the girls when they were getting ready for the night, had been exhausting for her. So, after hanging out with some of the Islanders and having quite a good time, she quietly gathered all of her things and made her way to the daybeds without telling anyone. She doesn’t know how she was able to make everyone believe that she was totally fine after Gary being taken away from her. Not that her chill attitude is all an act, but she feels far more upset that she let them know.

“I didn’t know you smoke,” she hears a poised voice next to her.

The young woman turns her head and lifts her eyes to find Lottie standing next to the daybed, wearing her pajamas and without makeup. The moonlight makes the black and lace detailing of her clothing look straight out of Morticia’s wardrobe.

Minni puffs on her cigarette with a small smile. “Let me guess: I don’t look like I do.”

“Got it in one,” the blonde grins. Then, she sits down. “Thought I’d come out here and keep you company for the night.”

The girl’s smile widens. “Thanks, Lotts.”. She gestures to her pack of cigarettes. “Want one?”

Lottie shakes her head. “No thanks babes, I don’t smoke in a full moon.”

Minni holds back a chuckle at her strange belief, but she is no-one to judge. She takes another lingering drag and exhales in a calmed manner, making smoke rings expertly.

“It’s best for us girls to stick together when things like this happen,” Lottie says. “Besides, you’re such a light in here that I can barely stand seeing somebody stepping on your toes,” she continues, meaning it.

“That’s so nice of you, Lottie,” the Cantabrigian responds, cautious. “I appreciate it.”

As she finishes her cigarette, the girls share a candid conversation. Minni finds out that Lottie is more sensitive than she appears to be, and Lottie realizes that Minni has some hidden depts that she doesn’t show to most people. She would’ve never expected to have the sensation that this kind and sparkling blue-eyed girl could be hiding something from them, but she doesn’t push her out of her comfort zone. Now that Minni is at risk of going home, Lottie doesn't see her as a threat anymore; she is hopeful that this could be the start of a friendship, as there has been such a long time since she has made new friends, especially girls. They tend to not like her because of her character, but Minni’s chatty and laidback nature gives the conversation a balance she could have never predicted.

After Minni comes back from brushing her teeth, both nestle into the sheets. Lottie peeks out above the blanket with her hair splayed over the pillow, and her fingers brush through the brunette’s hair, separating out a strand to plait while she talks.

“… and that’s how my ex’s personal trainer turned out to be his secret boyfriend,” Lottie finishes her story.

“Ugh, I hate when people use the excuse that they ‘weren’t feeling it’ to justify cheating,” Minni rolls her. “If you ‘aren’t feeling it’, just break up with your partner and that’s it.”

The blonde shrugs. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell what the other person is feeling. For example, I still don’t know where’s Rocco’s head at. He’s hard to read,” she states. “But I guess it depends on their personality too, because I think I can read Gary well by now and he looks pretty much only into you.”

Her confession makes Minni open her eyes wide, curious. “How can you tell?”

Lottie sits up, scrunching the sheets around her. “The boy got to share a bed with a hottie like Priya tonight and barely moved a finger. He just got there and went right to sleep. If you ask me, it’s because she’s not you.”

The other girl is out of words, feeling quite guilty for avoiding him since the Recoupling. Anyhow, it’s nice to know where his mind’s at. She feels a little lighter, the worries about Priya turning his head right away fading a little.

Lottie grins when she sees her reaction. “I thought you’d want to know. I know I definitely would.”

Minni smiles back. “I’d be lying if I said I’m not happy to hear that,” she tells her, trying not to give too much away. “He’s nice.”

“He looks like a sort. Not my type, though,” Lottie shrugs. A yawn escapes her lips, and she covers her mouth with her hand, lying back on the mattress. She sighs. “Hey, I know today was pretty rough for you. Tomorrow will be better.”

After that, she shuffles to lie on her side, facing Minni.

“I promise,” she finishes, closing her eyes.

The blue-eyed girl holds back a sigh, not ready for the conversation to end. She barely slept last night worrying about Priya choosing Gary, and now that it all became a reality, she is now worried that being single could get her kicked out of the Villa, which means that she’s not sleeping anytime soon. Despite this, slumber starts to make itself at home in her head, as Lottie’s breathing acquires a tranquil rhythm next to her. She tries to focus on the sound of the breeze blowing between the bushes and the quiet chirping of the insects, trying to convince herself that Lottie is right. _Tomorrow will be better, tomorrow will be better_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter's main purpose was for you to see Minni's other side, one that she hides pretty well. and now that our beloved couple is no more, how will things pan out? maybe their heads will get turned, after all...


	4. Day 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The intrusive thought that he can’t get too attached to Minni for the sake of being safer in the competition has followed him since this morning— he can’t get it out of his head. He reckons they started too strong, but he also wanted to get off to a flying start in here. Things between them flow so smoothly, he feels so at ease by her side, like he could tell her anything, and he adores clowning around with her, her giggles being music to his ears. That’s what conflicts him the most: knowing that there’s a chance that no girl in this Villa could compare to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again beautiful people✧･ﾟ: * sorry for making you wait this much for this chapter, but here it is :3 i hope you guys like it✿

**Day 3**

**In the bedroom – Morning.**

A groan escapes Gary’s throat as he stretches, the duvet sliding down to his waist. The Spanish sunlight that enters the room feels warm when it reaches his skin. He rubs his eyes and looks at his side— he’s alone. He guesses that Priya must’ve gotten up earlier, as soon as the lights turned on.

He sighs. It had been weird for him to share a bed with her instead of Minni, even though they had slept together only the first night. Maybe he is feeling like this because he has been so settled in her, since she’s the first girl he got coupled up with, and he suddenly realizes that this way of thinking is somewhat dangerous, considering the game they’re in. If he puts all of his eggs in one basket, in Minni’s basket, he could get kicked out of the Villa if she for some strange reason decides he is no longer the boy she wants to be with.

Despite wanting to talk to her about what happened at the Recoupling, yesterday Gary understood that Minni wanted some space. She didn’t reach out to him or even looked at him during the entire night, which confused him a lot, because he thought she wanted to keep getting to know him. Perhaps, he thinks, the fact that Priya chose him made her realize that she had to play the game too, that this is a competition after all. He can’t blame her, but he also can’t deny that admitting that it’s like inserting a shard in his heart. Either way, he doesn’t want to think much of it, with this being the main reason of why he didn’t pull her for a chat or didn’t follow her to the daybeds last night.

His thoughts go to last night again. He remembers giving Priya a goodnight peck, turning around and falling asleep in an instant. Now he feels that it was rude of him to sleep the whole night with his back to her, but he also didn’t want to force anything just yet, especially when Minni was the only thing in his mind at the moment. He sighs again; he hates to admit it, but he doesn’t know what he’s going to do if she keeps her distance to him just like yesterday, if she still needs space away from him.

It surprises him a lot to see her small figure entering the bedroom, still in her jammies. He squints to make sure it’s her, because he’s not wearing his glasses. But that two-piece set of white silk pajamas adorned with glittery silver stars and paired with fuzzy socks is unmistakable. His face lights up instantly and he sits up, happy to see her.

“Alright, Minni?” he greets her.

The girl looks at him and rubs her eyes tiredly, a shy smile forming in her lips. Without saying anything, she gets closer to the bed where he is in, the one that they shared the first night, leaves her stuff on the nightstand and lifts the duvet. She swiftly climbs inside, shortening the distance between the two. Her exposed legs, because of her pajama shorts, brush against his, and he notices that her skin is cold. Gary feels the urge to wrap himself around her to give her warmth.

“Hey,” she simply says.

Since she woke up this morning, all alone in the daybed, she felt the need to go back to Gary right away. She tried to contain herself by going to the kitchen first, but as soon as she saw, much to her disbelief, Marisol and Hannah fighting over who got to make him breakfast, she went straight to the bedroom to kind of make an unspoken statement, even though she’s not often this competitive; she considers that she has an advantage over them, anyway.

Minni gets cozy under the bedsheets, Gary’s warmth radiating from the small distance between them. He puts his arm over the pillow where her head is placed and his smile widens.

“Hey, you,” he murmurs, eyes scanning her delicate features. “Wanna tuck in some breakfast with me?”

“I wouldn’t go to the kitchen if I were you,” Minni sighs, exasperated. “The girls were fighting over you.”

Gary looks surprised. “Which girls?”

“Hannah and Marisol,” she whispers, a smile tugging her lips.

He rolls his eyes. From the first day, he has gotten flirty vibes from the both of them. Not that he is complaining about it— he reckons Marisol is alright and considers that she could be a good second choice. She’s confident and bold, opinionated and knows what she wants. She doesn’t hold back on her comments, and is not shy on showing how smart she could be, in much contrast with Minni’s personality. This attitudes somehow reminds him of his nan, and that brings him a sense of familiarity. But Hannah is surely not his type. She’s too dreamy, even childish sometimes, always talking about princes and fairytales and overall fiction. Gary likes concrete, real things; he noticed during the first day that their concepts of dating and love are total opposites. And, on top of that, she participates in this whole drama game alongside Lottie. He could never see himself with a girl like that. It’s not all bad, though, because knowing that they’re truly attracted to him widens his options, and that increases his chances of staying in the Villa.

“I hate all that drama,” he tells Minni. “Hannah’s the worst for it. Her and Lottie, anyway.” He shakes his head and makes a pause, but starts smiling when he reminds himself that Minni is right next to him now. He places his hand on her shoulder. “Minni, I—”

He stops talking when he hears a noise. Both turn towards the door to see Hannah and Marisol racing into the room. They trip over each other with their plates of food. A brief moment passes before they notice Minni under the covers, with Gary lying on his side next to her.

“I can’t believe you!” Hannah exclaims dramatically, taking her by surprise.

Gary and Minni exchange a look, his hand not moving from her shoulder.

Marisol laughs at the scene. She never expected the brunette to actually get in bed with him, despite being his ex-partner. She thinks that, possibly, she’s one to watch out for. “Well played, Minni. Well played.”

“What’s going on in here then?” Gary asks, confused. He shifts slightly closer to the girl beside him.

“I made you breakfast!” Hannah exclaims.

“ _We_ made you breakfast, actually. Both of us,” the dark blonde clarifies.

The man holds back a laugh, quite enjoying the spotlight and entertained by the odd scenario. He doesn’t remember girls actually competing for his attention like this back home, unless is at the club.

“Wow, ladies… I’m spoilt of choice!” he chuckles. Then, he turns to Minni, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. He feels the need to let her know she is still his number one, after all. Plus he offered her to share breakfast anyway. “Which one do you want, babe?”

Hannah’s face falls and Marisol raises an eyebrow at his audacity. Minni’s big blue eyes twinkle and she can’t avoid pursing her lips, trying to contain a giggle. She never expected her daring move to end up so good. After thinking for a second, she turns to Marisol.

“I want Marisol’s, please.”

She gently takes the plate from the Spanish girl and picks up the fork. There’s a flicker of amusement in her dark eyes, and she finds herself thinking that maybe this forward version of Minni is even more attractive than the hunk next to her.

Gary has no choice but to take the plate from Hannah. He also wanted Marisol’s dish, but he lets Minni have it because after yesterday’s events he just wants to see her happy.

“Not really my thing, avocados,” he mutters.

He ignores the fork, picking up the toast with his hands while Hannah looks on, shell-shocked. Minni doesn’t get why Gary’s brute way of eating surprises the redhaired girl so much, until she reminds herself that she has seen him wolf down his breakfast, lunch and dinner up close before, in the exact same way. Maybe his nan would nag him after seeing him eating like that on national TV.

Minni quietly takes a small bite of Marisol’s Spanish tortilla. It’s not as good as Bobby’s omelets, but it’s delicious and tasty. She’s about to be nice and compliment her on it, when Hannah speaks.

“I hope you’re pleased with yourself, Minni. You’re ruined everything!” she says, frowning.

“He was going to share brekkie with me anyway,” the blue-eyed girl rolls her eyes at the ginger’s exaggerated behavior.

“You don’t know that!” she replies.

Marisol stays quiet, not wanting to be part of such bickering. Gary’s crystal eyes dart back and forth between the pair.

“I’m not fighting with you over a guy, babe,” Minni sighs.

“Ugh, you’re so annoying!” the other girl exclaims.

The Cantabrigian bites her tongue, not wanting to engage in drama this early in the day. She feels Gary’s reassuring hand on her thigh beneath the covers, perhaps asking her the same thing. Before anyone can actually react, they all watch Hannah leave. When she slams the door close behind her, Marisol turns to them.

“You two look cozy. Got room for one more?” she asks, flirty.

A small smile forms in Minni’s lips. Now that she thinks about it, she’s not completely opposed to the idea, or the suggestion that Marisol is hinting at, but wouldn’t admit it out loud. Gary is truly taken aback by her somewhat courageous question and doesn’t know how to respond. He just hopes he’s not red-faced and watches Minni for her reaction. Marisol shakes her head before she can say anything.

“Don’t worry. I think you’ve earned this one, Minerva,” she says. “I better go find Ibrahim anyway.”

With that, she walks away without looking back. As soon as she closes the door behind her, Minni turns to Gary with a sheepish grin, and he smiles back, blushing a little. Next, he leaves his plate on the nightstand and so does she.

“Well, that could’ve ended worse,” he comments, lightheartedly.

Minni chuckles. “It didn’t bother me that much, honestly. Once Hannah got all dramatic, all I could think of was this Star Wars scene, the one when Obi-Wan says ‘It’s over, Anakin. I have the high ground’,” the girl takes the fork out of her plate and swings it at Gary, deepening her voice.

He erupts into laugher, pulling her into a hug and giving her a cuddle. Without stopping his giggles, he takes the fork out of her hand and lightly pokes her side with it. Then, he starts tickling her mercilessly.

“You underestimate my power,” he quotes, imitating the following theatrical dialogue from the movie.

Minni shrieks in delight, trying to stop him. But Gary is stronger, obviously, and having his arms wrapped around her makes her impossible to escape his tickles. She uselessly windmills her arms and pushes him away, running out of breath, but he doesn’t stop. And, sincerely, he doesn’t want to. He knows that getting attached to Minni so soon is not the best idea, this little voce in his head telling him to keep some distance, but having her now between his arms, laughing, makes it hard for him to clear his head.

“Can I get you guys anything?” a feminine voice says next to them.

The blond man stops and turns around, to see Priya standing next to the bed. She doesn’t look angry or pissed off. It’s like she was just messing with them.

“Some snacks? A condom?” she continues with a smirk.

It doesn’t bother her seeing the two of them flirting like that, because she understands that it’s still early days and everyone is trying to figure out who they really fancy. Besides, she knows she’s not entitled to claim Gary either, even if they’re in a couple. Entertained by their shy reactions to her banter, she takes something out of her nightstand and exists the room, without saying another word. 

When she’s gone, Minni’s slightly panicked expression turns to Gary. He just offers her a goofy smile.

**In the kitchen – Noon.**

Minni lets out a long sigh at the pile of dishes in front of her. Later this morning she made a bet with Bobby about who could leap over the most amount of bean bags, and she lost. The loser had to do the other’s washing up after lunch and, on top of that, Bobby, knowing that Minni would have to pay the price, made sure to use as much plates as he possibly could just to mess with her. He even used different glasses every time he got a refill. The girl rolls her eyes at the memory. In her defense, he had cheated— she was sure that she saw him flattening the bean bags when nobody was watching.

As she grabs the sponge and gets the water running, she starts to reflect about everything that has happened since she arrived here. Being single still worries her and puts her nervous. She knows that she has certain advantage of being picked by Gary in a future Recoupling, but anything could happen, as she learned last night with the Priya situation.

Despite Minni knowing that he likes her the most, she’s starting to feel unsure about sticking with him. There’s not two, but three other girls that fancy him too, and she doesn’t know him too well to know for certain that he won’t get his head turned in an instant. It’s not that the competition scares her, but it reminds her that this is a game, that she has to play her cards well, despite not wanting to be calculative. Hanging out with him has been fun, his kisses were an otherworldly experience for her, and she feels attracted to him like if he had a gravitational field especially made to pull her towards his body. Plus, he is incredibly hot and she rates his personality, his banter and cheekiness in a way that she never expected. But she understands that she’s not immersed in a normal scenario; focusing all her attention on him could get her dumped, more now considering that she is single.

She ends up thanking the fact that she lost the bet, since this gave her some alone time to get her thoughts straight and actually plan her next move. She still wants to be with Gary, but he also wants to get to know some of the other boys better, to expand her options. She promises herself to hold back a little, to keep some distance between the two, even when she’s not chuffed by the idea. And, who knows? Perhaps she finds someone who ends up being a better fit for her, although she can’t imagine who.

Minni is about to finish doing the washing up when her phone buzzes.

“Guys, I got a text!” she yells.

The other Islanders run over from all across the Villa.

“What does it say?” Hope asks.

<Islanders, tonight there will be a Recoupling. The boys will choose. Whoever is still single by the end of the evening will be dumped from the Villa immediately. #timesup #getgrafting.>

The Cantabrigian opens her eyes wide and blinks a couple of times while she looks at the screen, to make sure she read it correctly, that her anxiety for being single didn’t make it up. But the words are right there, clearly in front of her. Then she lifts her sight, trying to hide her nervousness as she avoids meeting everyone’s eyes. She knows various of the Islanders are looking at her because she’s single.

She feels Hope reaching for her hand. “Oh. My. Days.”

**At the lawn – Noon.**

“Later, bruv,” Rahim waves at him, getting out of the gym.

“Later,” Gary says back, wiping his brow with a towel.

He leaves the towel in the pressing bench and stretches, his muscles feeling extra sore after working out. But it was worth it, though, especially because it helped him to clear his thoughts a bit before tonight’s Recoupling. Rubbing his lower back, he heads to the bean bags and lets himself fall over one of them.

The intrusive thought that he can’t get too attached to Minni for the sake of being safer in the competition has followed him since this morning— he can’t get it out of his head. He reckons they started too strong, but he also wanted to get off to a flying start in here. Things between them flow so smoothly, he feels so at ease by her side, like he could tell her anything, and he adores clowning around with her, her giggles being music to his ears. That’s what conflicts him the most: knowing that there’s a chance that no girl in this Villa could compare to her. And that’s the reason why he settles on picking her at tonight’s Recoupling. Despite not being sure about settling with her yet, he still likes the idea of getting to know her better, and the best way to do that is being coupled.

He ponders his options anyway. The only other girl that he would like to try it on with, besides Minni, would be Marisol, which is weird, as they seem like opposites. And his two last options are either Lottie or Hannah, just because they come across as too dramatic for his liking. Now that he thinks about it, it feels so wrong and unnatural having to discard girls like this and practically having to rank them whenever he has to make a decision, as he has always preferred to go with the flow and take things as they come. He likes strategy, but not up to this level.

His eyes scan the Villa and he spots a familiar figure heading towards him. As he sees her approach, he gets up, grabs another beanbag, and puts it down next to his.

“Alright?”

Minni sits down next to him, her water bottle in her hand. After having quick chats with the rest of the boys, she decided to make Gary her last stop. Despite being determined to put some distance with him, she still wants to know where’s his head at before the Recoupling, and she still wants him to choose her.

“Feeling good about the Recoupling? I’m well excited,” he continues, smiling.

The girl rolls her eyes. “Of course you guys are excited. You’ve got the power, after all.”

“Well, you girls got to decide the first time. It’s only fair that now we have that chance too,” he shrugs.

Minni groans sinks into the bean bag.

“Ugh, I know. It’s just… it’s stressful,” she admits. “You know who you are going to choose?”

Gary takes a second to think about his answer. He is conflicted between telling her right away and keeping his plans for himself just in case he changes his opinion at the last minute, although he doesn’t know what could make him want to choose another girl. The uncertainty of how things could play out confuse the hell out of him. In the past, his nan warned him about making promises before he could deliver, telling him that, in those cases, things mostly end up wrong, and he decides to follow her advice.

“So, I’m thinking is all about strategy at this stage, right?” he starts, trying to dodge the question to a certain degree. “It’s about staying at the Villa, and it’s about playing the long game.”

After hearing his somewhat cryptic half-response, the brunette raises an eyebrow, actually worrying that he might not want to pick her after all, and that’s why he’s being so enigmatic about it. She thanks the universe that she has been kind of grafting the rest of the boys during the day.

“So you’re telling me that you’re keeping your plans a secret until the big moment?” Minni asks.

“Yeah,” he grins.

“Oh, please,” she nervous laughs, trying to lighten the mood. “Not even a clue?”

“Nope.”

Gary lies back in his beanbag and looks at the lawn, trying to think of a proper way to word his next phrase. He doesn’t know how to let her know that he wants to take things slow and not blow his cover at the same time. He takes a second before turning his eyes back to her.

“Look, I know we were coupled up back at the start and all…” he says. “But as far as I’m concerned, it was only for a day. We’ll see how it goes later, alright?”

 _Ouch_ , Minni thinks. She surely didn’t expect him to be this dismissive about the time they shared together.

“Ha, you’re really direct, aren’t you?” she says with a sigh. He’s about to say something else when she cuts him short with a gesture. “It’s fine, I get you,” she brushes her hair to one side using her fingers to relieve some tension.

As she roams her eyes across the Villa, trying to avoid his bewildered gaze, she spots Rocco floating around the kitchen, making a smoothie. In the instant he meets her eyes, he waves at her enthusiastically. Then he points out at the smoothie machine and winks at her. This invitation makes the girl grin, standing up like if she had springs in her feet.

“Later,” she waves as she parts from Gary.

He just nods with a strained smile, trying not to think much of it.

**At the dressing room – Afternoon.**

“Aaargh!”

Minni turns around to see a pile of clothes cascading out of Hannah’s wardrobe, with her being nearly buried underneath them. The brunette stands up from her seat in front of the mirror and reaches out to her, leaving her eyeliner half done.

“You okay, hun?” Minni asks, helping her pick up a few vintage style dresses.

“Ugh! Yeah, I’m fine. It’s my fault for not putting them back properly,” she responds. “Stupid things,” she adds, kicking the pile.

“Babe, don’t kick your clothes,” the brunette sighs. Then, she picks up the pile and smooths the pieces by using her hands. “They’re pretty.”

Hannah’s expression softens. “Sorry, I’m useless when I’m nervous.”

She sits down in the floor next to her wardrobe, with a defeated look on her face. That gesture alone lets Minni know that she’s not feeling good about the Recoupling. Trying to be supportive, she sits down next to the girl as she calmly folds the clothes that fell down, arranging them in a neat pile by her side. From a distance, Marisol throws a quick, curious glance at them. She can’t help but think that Minni’s selfless attitude undoubtedly will cause her to become a doormat in the future; the Recoupling is just minutes away and she hasn’t even finished getting ready just to help Hannah pick up some clothes. She doesn’t understand how such a smart person can’t seem to internalize the idea that the rest of the girls are not exactly her friends, they’re her competition, especially Hannah for trying to graft her man this morning— maybe she never got the memo.

“How are you feeling, Hannah?” Minni asks.

The redhead gestures at the chaos around her. “Well, not great obviously. I’m just really nervous about the Recoupling. It’s got my head all twisted. I feel like nobody is going to pick me…”

“You’ll be fine, hun,” the other girl replies, although she’s not entirely convinced. She keeps folding Hannah’s clothes as she thinks that maybe she’s right, because she hasn’t seen any boy actively flirting with her, not even Bobby, who is supposed to be her partner.

“Yeah, listen to Minni,” Priya speaks from her spot in the dressing room. She keeps looking at her reflection while she does her makeup, and continues. “You’re the whole package, Hannah! You’re smart, you’re pretty, you’ve got an amazing way with words…”

“And now, a neatly arranged wardrobe,” the Cantabrigian says, putting the folded clothes in the bottom drawer of Hannah’s closet. “Not that it matters too much,” she adds, winking at her.

Looking at her through the mirror, Priya smiles. “If the boys don’t see that, they’re fools.”

“Exactly,” the Minni follows, sitting on the floor next to the girl again. “You’ve done nothing but to _be yourself_ and, it might sound cliché but, if a guy doesn’t fancy you just the way you are, then he’s just not made for you. If the right guy is here, he is bound to pick you.”

Hannah sniffs. “Thanks guys, I needed that.”

Marisol rolls her eyes at the cheesiness of the situation. “Hey, you’re not the only one at risk, alright? Things aren’t exactly going peachy with me and Ibrahim.”

Minni raises an eyebrow at her comment, not wanting to believe that she’s making the situation about herself. She can understand that maybe she wants to share her problems too, but they’re sorting Hannah’s issues first, especially because she looks the most distressed out of the six girls.

“Ugh,” she huffs. “The fact that she’s not the only at risk doesn’t mean that she doesn’t deserve to get some reassurance. And that comes from the girl who is _single_ at the moment.”

“You’re just saying that because you were the one who got to crack on with Gary this morning. Hashtag breakfastgate,” the Spanish girl replies. She can barely stand Minni’s goody-two shoes attitude, particularly because she doesn’t seem to be faking it. Then, she turns to Hannah. “Even after you made him a sandwich or whatever, you’re still not sure if he’s going to pick you, and that’s partly on Minni. Typical sunk cost fallacy there. That’s so you,” she tells Hannah.

The brunette shakes her head.

“Maybe there’s more to attraction than making him food?” she shrugs. “And if we’re using smart vocabulary, then let me tell you that your attitude is becoming an equal to negative-mass matter, which would act as a source of repulsive gravitational fields… if it’s proven to exist, anyway.”

“What does that mean?” Hannah asks, frowning. “What are you two on about?”

Marisol squints. _Did Minni just try to say that I’m acting so negative that I’ll eventually repel people?_ she analyzes. She can’t believe this girl. “I… I don’t have headspace to get into it now, alright? I need to focus.”

After letting out a sigh, Minni gives Hannah a pat on the shoulder and stands up, extending her hand for her to take.

“C’mon, freckle sister. Let’s seize this Recoupling.”

**Recoupling – Afternoon.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5paJrsIkqg)**

The moment the first phone beeps, Gary’s pulse starts to pick up in pace. His eyes go to Minni, who is holding Lottie’s hand, her cobalt gaze lost in a random spot beyond the bench there the boys are sitting. He can’t figure out if she’s nervous or not, but he reckons she is paler than usual. Or perhaps it’s because of the contrast between her milky-white skin and the deep black fitted dress she decided to wear.

“That’s me,” Noah announces.

He stands up and faces the row of girls. His eyes are already fixed on Hope’s, who breaks out in a grin that lights up her face, and Noah flashes a bright smile back.

“I’ll be honest. I came here to find someone to join me on my journey through life—”

“Wait, aren’t you meant to start with ‘I’d like to couple up with this girl because’?” Gary asks, puzzled.

“Shh! Let him speak!” Hope exclaims.

Minni holds back a chuckle. After throwing Gary a hard look, Noah continues his speech and, at the end, he picks up Hope, as expected. All the Islanders burst into applause right after he finishes kissing her in front of everyone. The silence resumes as soon as they sit together at the fire pit.

The blue-eyed girl is not fazed, cause she’s never seen Noah as an option. Her eyes go briefly to Gary but, before they can connect their sights, Ibrahim’s phone beeps, all the Islanders turning their heads to look at him. Much to Minni’s surprise, he decides to go for Priya. She never expected them to have a thing, but she’s glad they do. Now that she evaluates it a little, they seem like a good match. She sincerely smiles at Priya, who smiles back. Then both take their seats.

A few moments later, another phone goes off and Bobby jumps up. He looks at Minni first and she returns the same look. They talked extendedly about tonight’s Recoupling, and they agreed that he would only pick Minni if she was in real danger of being dumped. But Gary is still left, and he’s sure he’ll want to recouple with her, so he decides to go for another girl who he really rates.

“… we still have too much getting to know each other left in store!” he continues his speech. “So without further ado, the person unfortunate enough to be locked into a couple with me is… Lottie! Come and get it, baby girl!”

Lottie laughs and lets go of Minni’s hand, after giving it a reassuring squeeze. She walks over to Bobby and they hug. Everyone cheers, and the brunette girl wants to say something cheering and nice to both of her friends but nervousness is lurking in her head already, the air getting caught in her throat. At this point, she’s not even sure if Gary is going to choose her, remembering his dodgy attitude from earlier on. She blinks a couple of times in an attempt to clear away those thoughts. She notices that Hannah is feeling the same when she leans over to her to whisper.

“Well, it’s between me, you, and Marisol now. And you’re both gorgeous, so…” she sighs. “Things aren’t looking too good for me, are they?”

“Mate, what happened to que será, será?” Minni whispers back, reaching out to hold her hand. She shakes it side to side in an encouraging manner and then lets go, not knowing where she got the strength to be reassuring in this situation from, as she’s almost as anxious as her by now. “It’s not over yet.”

“Remember what I told you, hun,” Marisol adds. “Concentrate on your belly button. Breathe.”

Before either Hannah or Minni can reply, another phone beeps. Silence falls over the group. Gary’s crystal blue eyes dart immediately to Rocco, who stands up. His jaw clenches at the thought that he will have to decide which girl goes home. He’s set to choose Minni in any scenario, though.

“My turn.” Rocco’s eyes move between the three girls. He takes a deep breath. “Honestly, I didn’t know that I was still looking for a girl like this when I came in. But the magnetism I feel towards her is unignorable. In a world of embers, she’s a roaring bonfire. My soul is drawn to her flames like a wanderer in the night.”

Minni purses her lips in an attempt to contain a chuckle. She can’t take seriously his poetic speech, more so when she is not sure to who he is referring to.

“Or a moth! Oh, and she’s really hot,” he continues. “So, although I know it might come out of the blue, I really want to see where things go with me and this girl. So the girl I’d like to couple up with is…” He pauses. Finally, his eyes fall on Minni. “Minerva.”

Gary’s eyes go wide, then he frowns and throws Rocco a glare, but says nothing. Minni was never his to claim, of course, but he feels disappointed. He truly wanted to keep getting to know her and now it seems that the chance has slipped between his fingers like water. He doesn’t want to know what he’ll feel like when he sees her cracking on with Rocco, so he tries to shake off the thought and move on.

A smile appears in the girl’s glossy lips, Rocco’s decision not taking her entirely for a surprise. She has been hanging out a lot with him since they arrived to the Villa, even clowned a little this morning by singing along at Wonderwall together and shared a smoothie this afternoon, but she never thought he’d like her more than any of the other girls. Either way, she’s kind of happy to try things with him. And now she’s safe from getting dumped, which is surely a tension reliever for her.

“Oh my days,” Minni murmurs as she crosses over to Rocco.

He places his hands on her upper arms, gently. “That means you’re happy, right?” he asks, his eyes slightly wider.

“I think so,” she grins, kindly.

“Phew!” he gasps.

The girl giggles at his response and throws her arms around him to thank him. He grins and wraps her up in his arms, squeezing her close. The other Islanders erupt in applause and they take a seat together around the fire pit, with now just Hannah and Marisol standing before them. It doesn’t take much time before Gary’s phone beeps and he stands up.

“Guess I’m last,” he sighs.

Next, he looks between the two girls. Marisol flicks her hair, smiling confidently at him. On the other hand, Hannah looks down at the ground and takes a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut. He feels the air getting heavy around his nose.

“I didn’t reckon going at the end would be this hard, to be honest. I mean, one of you girls is going home based on my decision.” He sighs again and shakes his head sadly. “But that’s the way it has to be, right?” Next, he glances at Rocco. “And someone already chose the girl I was originally going to pick.”

Minni raises an eyebrow, a little surprised by his forwardness. Earlier today he didn’t even want to admit to her in private that he wanted to pick her, and now he’s stating it in front of everyone. The girl feels confused by his uncertain and irresolute attitude. She never thought Gary would be a secretive guy.

“Still, it is what it is and I’m open to giving this girl a chance and keeping my options open,” Gary continues. “I’d like to couple up with this girl because she gets what this is all about. In a way, she reminds me of my nan—”

A few Islanders exchange glances.

“I’m interested in what she has to say. Plus, she’s flames. So I’m gonna make this quick,” he follows. “The girl I want to couple up with… is Marisol.”

 _Well, I didn’t see that coming_ , Minni thinks, but says nothing. And then she realizes that she never pictured Gary with any other girl besides herself.

After hearing her name, Marisol smiles and thanks Gary. Beside her, Hannah’s shoulders slump. Minni thinks of walking to her right away, her thoughts going to their chat earlier about her feeling that nobody was going to pick her, but she doesn’t want to make a scene or cause controversy, so she stays glued to her seat. The Islanders around the fire pit clap as Marisol walks over to Gary and plants a peck on his cheek. Minni claps politely, not too enthusiastically, and only Lottie refrains totally from joining in, glaring icily at both of them. The applause dies as the Islanders turn to look at Hannah, standing on her own before the group.

“I… I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe I’m going home!” she says. Her phone beeps and she holds it up with shaking hands. With a wobbly voice, she reads out loud a text that orders her to pack her bags and leave the Villa immediately.

All the islanders approach Hannah to say their goodbyes, Lottie being the first. Minni gives the redhaired girl a tight hug and repeats her words from before, reminding her to be proud of her unique personality and that people who genuinely like her will stick to her if she keeps being herself. The girl doesn’t exactly respond, but manages a smile at her kindness. As for Gary, he hangs back, being the last person waiting to say goodbye. Hannah approaches him hesitantly and he feels terrible for being the reason she has to go home. The only thing he can think of to make her feel a little better is giving her a hug, his big frame engulfing her completely.

“No hard feelings, yeah?” he tells her, patting her back.

She doesn’t reply and delicately extracts herself. Gary takes it as a sign to let go and keep his distance. Even though he feels bad, he doesn’t exactly regret picking Marisol, because she is a girl he actually fancies and was his second choice, after all. Maybe good things will come out of this.

While the others are still saying goodbye to Hannah, Gary makes his way over to Minni. He is hesitant, not knowing how to start the conversation.

“Hey,” he reaches out for her arm as she is leaving. She turns around. “I just want to let you know that I would have chosen you if Rocco hadn’t got there first,” he confesses.

Minni raises an eyebrow. “So I heard. You could’ve told me when I asked you today, though. I thought I was going home,” she says, not entirely mad at him but definitely not pleased either.

Gary purses his lips. “It was a bad move from my part, wasn’t it?”

“Whatever,” the blue-eyed girl shrugs, meaning it. “You were right— we were only coupled for a day. I actually want to get to know Rocco.”

He nods, understanding. “It’s only fair I get to know Marisol too, so let’s keep our options open, but…” Giving her lukewarm attitude, he debates whether or not he should say this next words, but ends up doing it anyway. He doesn’t want to lose his chances with her this soon. “You were my first pick, so if things don’t work out with you and Rocco… Early days and all that.” He gives her arm a gentle squeeze.

She chuckles at his attempt. “Mate, I kinda don’t rate when boys keep me in my toes like you did today. We’ll see how it goes.”

**In the Villa – Nighttime.**

With a hand scratching his beard nervously, Gary exits the kitchen, a cuppa in hand— he needed it after the first Recoupling. More than being stressed out for having to choose between Hannah and Marisol, he now wonders if he ruined his chances with Minni already. Her words had a dismissive tint to it that he never expected, and she is so hard to read that the uncertainty of her feelings towards him drives him to overthink the situation even when he doesn’t want to.

He takes a sip of his tea as he walks towards the bedroom. Maybe he took his nan’s advice about making promises too literally. He realizes that he never had to promise anything to Minni, just saying that she was an option, his first pick, would have been enough for her to feel less nervous during the Recoupling. If he would’ve made things clear, been honest from the start instead of dodging her questions and acting all strategic, she could have never taken it the wrong way. Being secretive and not open like that is so unlike him it even upsets him. He hates playing mind games like this.

At least he has Marisol now, so not everything is bad. On the contrary, he is actually happy to be coupled up with her. He said at the Recoupling that he is going to keep his options open, and he’s now seriously planning to go down that path, more now considering that the competition will get fiercer as time passes. His words from today cross his mind, _is all about strategy at this stage,_ and he can’t shake the feeling that all of this doesn’t feel natural. He knows exactly who he’s never going to get out of his head but won’t admit it to himself and less to others, because he already feels incredibly tangled in this game dynamic.

“How are you holding up, lad?”

Gary was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice he almost stumbles upon Rahim as he walked across the living room.

“I’m alright,” he responds. “I feel bad for treading on someone’s toes, but I guess that’s what it’s about, right?”

The golfer pats his shoulder strongly in an attempt to comfort him. “That’s right. At the end of the day, you chose the girl that you fancied the most and this is what all of this is about, after all.”

Gary nods, but can’t avoid the corners of his lips to fall a little. “I just hope no-one’s upset.”

Rahim shrugs. “I don’t think anyone will hold it against you, bruv.” He makes a pause to think, his brow furrowed and eyes conflicted. “Well, except for Lottie, I guess. She even locked herself in the bathroom right after Hannah left.”

The blond man opens his eyes wide. “Really?”

His friend just nods as a response.

A cold feeling of guilt washes down Gary’s body. He realizes that Lottie doesn’t get along with anyone at the Villa besides a few people. Her only friends are Bobby, Minni and, above all, Hannah, and now that she’s gone, she must feel lonely, discouraged and misunderstood. It’s not that she didn’t bring it to herself, with her constant bitter comments and defiant attitude towards Priya to begin with, but he feels like he doesn’t have the right to kick her friend out and not apologize for it. He reckons that, perhaps, listening to her talking about how she feels could help. It’s one of the most helpful parts of his therapy, at least.

“Right,” he says.

Then, he leaves his cuppa over one of the living room’s tables and heads straight to the bathroom.

**In the bathroom – Later at night.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVJp307TNTY)**

The man battles internally with himself before knocking on the bathroom’s door. He’s not entirely sure if this is a good idea, considering Lottie’s dramatic and conflictive behavior, but at least he has to _try_ to make her feel better, because his decision brought the consequence that makes her feel this upset. If he manages to get her out of her confinement in the bathroom, it’s a win for him already.

“Who is it?” he hears her voice respond. She sounds vulnerable, a tinge in it he would have never phantom to hear.

“It’s me,” he says. “I would like to have a chat with you, if you want.”

“Fuck off, Gary,” the Aussie responds. He can feel her resentment even through the door.

He sighs, not giving up yet. Not when she sounds this distressed, anyway. “Come on, open the door. I reckon talking about it will make you feel better.”

A long silence follows, before he hears the lock of the door turning. The clicking sound echoes in the hallway where he is for a moment, and then he opens the door to see Lottie sitting in the bathroom floor. Her fair hair is covering her face, makeup is smudged all around her eyes and splattered across her cheekbones, the only intact part of it being her dark purple lips. The sight of her makes Gary’s empath side come completely to surface, in an instant. He sighs and sits down on the floor beside her, at a polite distance.

“I won’t push you into telling me anything,” he begins. “But if you need to talk, I’m right here. I’ll listen.”

She just throws him a harsh look.

“Why would I want to talk to you about how I feel? My best friend is gone because of you,” she says, bitterly.

Gary shakes his head, annoyed already. “I had to choose someone, and I went with a girl who I really fancy. That’s what I was supposed to do.”

“You’re so selfish, Gary,” Lottie growls, “You knew Hannah liked you and you still didn’t go for her. You didn’t even give her a chance.”

“Not because she fancied me I was supposed to crack on with her right away. She wasn’t my type, that’s it. It would’ve been irresponsible from my part to make her feel I liked her back when I didn’t,” the blond man rolls his eyes.

“But she tried so hard with you!” the girl exclaims, exasperated. “She even told me that she made you breakfast today, and what did you do with it? You shared it with _Minni_ , you dickhead!”

He clenches his jaw. Lottie’s stubborn and accusing attitude is already getting on his nerves, and he is trying hard not to get hot headed about it. Sticking to his initial intentions of giving her some comfort is looking more and more impossible as both get immersed into the beginning of an argument.

“Don’t get Minni involved in this,” he mutters, his blue eyes piercing hers.

The Aussie huffs and shifts so she’s facing him directly. Her glare is intense, green eyes filling with tears.

“My best friend in here got dumped because of you,” she repeats, one slender and pale finger jabbing his chest, right in the center of it. Hate and anger drip from her perfectly painted lips. “It’s your fault that I’m all alone now, and you’ve got the nerve to come here and offer me to have chat. I don’t believe a word that comes from your mouth because you never stopped for a second to think about how Hannah felt, and got her dumped just because she wasn’t ‘your type’. Apparently, you only care about yourself.”

“Bloody hell, Charlotte,” Gary clenches his jaw, his voice raising in volume a little. He feels her long, black nail still pressed against his shirt. “How can you say that when the main reason I came here it’s because I felt bad for seeing you cry and knowing you were hurting. I came here to see if I could make you feel better somehow, but you are so full of hate that you can’t even see that.”

Those last words make Lottie’s anger crumple, his sincerity taking her aback. She’s had so many bad experiences with men that she tends to think the worst in them, less expect them to actually _care_ about how she really feels. The thought that he came here _for her_ dawns on her and she realizes how sweet and thoughtful he can be when he wants to.

Once Gary perceives that she is backing down, he gently takes her hand, which had been jabbing at his chest, and cradles it between his. Her skin is cold and velvety, her muscles tense.

“Look, I was in a though position and I had to make a decision,” he begins to speak in a calmer tone, looking directly at her. Lottie’s glazed eyes meet his and she has the sensation that she will drown in that light blue color. It feels _nice,_ she notices. “I’m sorry if my choice hurt you in any way, but it’s all in the past now. I can’t change anything. I was planning on staying here until you felt better, and I wish I could do something to help you, but I understand that I can’t. I’m truly sorry, Lottie,” he tells her.

The man stays still waiting for her to answer. He questions himself, thinking that maybe he has been too honest and that his speech could have made her even more angry, but before he knows it, her lips are crashing onto his. His thoughts swirl inside his mind, confusion emerging and electrifying his entire brain, like a warning sign. He thinks of pulling back, but he remembers how distraught she was just a few seconds ago and adverts that doing that could only make everything worse. He’s not even sure if he likes it or not, but he moves his lips just slightly to return the kiss for a split second. As soon as he does it, he knows it’s enough.

Gary pulls back slowly, afraid of her possible enraged reaction. Lottie’s emotions are so high up that she feels like she’s floating, sitting over clouds, so she doesn’t do anything. She expects the aftermath to resemble the beginning of a romantic moment, but Gary’s fight or flight instinct kicks in right away when he realizes the consequences this kiss could bring, and now he doesn’t know if to scold her for kissing him without his permission in the first place, or to get out of there to avoid conflict. He settles for the second one.

“Y-You seem better now,” he mumbles, his eyes locked with hers. “I… I gotta go, if you don’t mind.”

Disappointment strikes Lottie, like a bullet on her chest. In the few seconds that pass, the same thoughts Gary is having about the possible effects of the two kissing paralyze her emotionally. She’s not even able to feel angry, or confused, or sad now. She can’t think of anything but his sweet lips on hers and what could happen if anyone finds out.

“Alright,” she murmurs, her sight doing down and getting fixed in her hands over her lap.

Gary stands up quietly and walks towards the door, feeling his legs tense and anxious, like if his limbs were made of wood. When he gets a hold of the doorknob, he pauses for a second to stare back at Lottie and she returns the look. Both, green and blue eyes, make a silent agreement to not tell anyone about what just happened. After that, he exits the bathroom, closing gently the door behind him.

Lottie is left alone again, and soon her thoughts are the only ones making her company. She replays the moment over and over in her head and soon realizes that she’s the worst friend in the world, both for Hannah and Minni. She can’t wrap her mind around the idea that she just kissed the man her best friend had a crush on, the same man her other friend used to be coupled up with and probably still fancies the hell out of. Her heartbeat quickens, knowing that all of this is recorded and will be played on TV for millions of people to watch, including Hannah. Now the outside world will think she’s the worst friend in the world too.

She considers leaving the Villa, escaping from this situation, with a foreboding that someone will find out later or sooner, and everyone will see them as hypocrites and _cheaters_. She feels like such a fraud knowing that yesterday she told Minni that Gary wasn’t her type; Minni, the only girl in the Villa who is a friend of hers now, the only one who took the time to get to know her. The only girl who _stands_ her for more than a few minutes. But soon, her newfound feelings for Gary start clouding her judgement. She starts thinking that she couldn’t care less if she had to step on Minni’s toes, but hangs back when a little voice in her head reminds her how nice the girl has been to her, and now that Hannah is gone, she’s the only friend she has left. If she finds out, Lottie knows that their friendship will get demolished in an instant, despite the blue-eyed girl’s mellow nature. And then Lottie will be truly alone.

But maybe— maybe she can couple up with Gary in the future, and she will get to kiss him like this whenever she wants. The rewards of staying in the Villa seem to overpower the risks, so she decides to stay. To stay _for him_. The blonde girl brings her shaky hand towards her lips, her fingertips grazing over her dark purple lipstick. He tasted like London Fog tea.

**In the bedroom – Midnight.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7z-I2iQXkE)**

_The problem is the assumption that spacetime is flat, on small scales is mainly theoretical, and arises when formulating a theory of quantum gravity, equivalently, a quantum theory of spacetime geometry_ , Minni reads. The lights of the room are still on, because not all of the Islanders have gotten into bed yet, with Gary, Lottie and Ibrahim missing. While Rocco is moving his belongings from his previous bed to this one, she uses this free time to read one of the many physics books she brought to the Villa. She is comfortably tucked under the cool bedsheets, a glass of chocolate milk on her nightstand. _It is straightforward to construct such a theory, the Effective Field Theory, in the standard framework, but it only works on long distance scales—_

Rocco climbs in on the other side of the bed, grinning at her. His body is warm compared to the sheets surrounding her. Minni returns the smile to him and her eyes go back to her book to read the last sentence of the page. _The theory breaks down at small scales, like the Plank distance, so it must be replaced with something else._ The moment she leaves her book on her nightstand, the other Islanders are settling down for bed already, turning their attention to each other. Before she notices, the lights go off.

The duvet rustles as Rocco turns in her direction. His voice is a whisper.

“I wanted to check something with you,” he says. “You’re cool with this, right? Sharing a bed with me so soon? I get that it’s all kind of intense. You’re really beautiful and I hope attraction is mutual, but… I’m definitely not pushing anything to happen between us before you’re ready.”

She’s surprised at his words, used to see him always flirting and talking poetically. He looks at her thoughtfully, waiting for her answer. At this short distance, the green color of his eyes is mesmerizing. At first, she considered not doing anything more than cuddling with him tonight, especially because this day has been quite heavy, but now that they are this close, she’s not sure if she will able to resist kissing him. She thought she just fancied him before, yet the short proximity has a magnetizing effect.

“Don’t worry. I’m fine with it,” she murmurs. “I’m fine with _everything_.”

Rocco immediately takes the hint and shuffles closer to her, smiling. “You’re radiant, Minni,” he whispers.

“Wow, I never heard that one before,” she says, looking at him under her large and curved eyelashes. The tips of their noses are almost touching.

Rocco looks confused and pulls back a little. “What do you mean?”

Minni grins. “ _Radiant_ ,” she repeats, wiggling her fingers.

The boy rolls his eyes, but a playful smile escapes his lips after a while. He brushes a strand of hair from her face, and then lets his hand linger a little longer, caressing her cheek. He stares deeply into her eyes, and Minni can’t help but to keep all of her focus on his intense gaze. His emerald eyes are fixated on hers, until they suddenly closer and closer. Their lips meet, tongues twining around one another. He’s not an incredible kisser, but his intensity, the fervent feelings he transmits through his lips gets Minni’s skin covered in goosebumps either way.

Rocco cups her face in his hands and she wraps her arms around his waist, sinking into the kiss— letting go. She feels _free_ , like she could do anything right here and now. Her thoughts on _other people_ , on _other kisses_ fade, evaporate, and she couldn’t care less about who picked up who today, the rules of this game and deciding on who she really wants to be with. In the span of a few days, she has already kissed two hot guys, this making her feel the same thrill she experiences at the clubs back home, like she could kiss anyone she pleases and no-one will get attached. For a moment, she forgets where she is and all she can think about is the warmth of his lips against hers. When she pulls back and opens her eyes, Rocco is looking at her. His eyes sparkle, and takes her hand in his delicately.

“What’s on your mind?” she whispers, without being able to stop staring at the green, wild color of his irises.

“Fate. The universe. Whatever made it possible for me to be here with you right now,” he responds. “I feel like we’re on the threshold of something amazing.”

Despite him being quite charming, Minni still can’t take him seriously. The corners of her lips tug, forcing her to hold back a smile. “You really think so?”

“Definitely. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you,” he states.

The girl raises an eyebrow, incredulous. “What movie is that quote from?” she banters, a delicate smile in her face.

Rocco pouts. “It’s not from a movie,” he whines, a little mad by her humor. Despite this, it just takes her to kiss his cheek for him to relax.

“I believe you,” the girl giggles. “But just this time.” Then, she snuggles into the sheets beside him. “Can I be the little spoon?” she asks, softly.

Rocco chuckles and cocoons his arms around her. His chest moves with the rhythm of his breathing. Minni feels his breath against the back of her neck, stirring her hair as she finally, luckily, and after two nights of not being able to fall asleep properly, dozes off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are finally getting spicy, you guys ;) you have no idea how hard is for me to write those two falling for other people haha but i did my best. things just go downhill from here, as i promised. and yes, that dressing room scene is major foreshadowing for Returning Hannah c:< see you in the next chapter♥


	5. Day 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this moment, his mind makes him believe that, perhaps, just like in the past, if he gets bigger now things will get better. He will look healthier and more confident for the cameras, the Villa’s girls will fawn all over him like if they were bees and he was honey, none of the Islanders will dare to say anything to piss him off. Maybe, if he had been more muscular yesterday, he would have stood out enough for Minni not to move on so quickly with Rocco. Possibly, if he had been bigger yesterday, he would have been attractive enough for Marisol to want to do more than peck him on the lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys✿ this chapter contains some mentions of Gary's body insecurities, so if you don't feel comfortable reading it (although they are light mentions) just skip the first two paragraphs of his gym scene. also, next to the correspondent scene i'll leave a link to a really useful post explaining Gary's character according to his disorder, so you can check it out if you'd like to understand him better.  
> honestly, idk why i kinda struggled a lot to finish this chapter, but here it is :3 i hope you enjoy✧･ﾟ: *

**Day 4**

**In the bedroom – Morning.**

The tugging of the duvet wakes Minni up. The lights are still off, just the outside’s daylight illuminating the room, when she opens one tired eye to see Rocco next to her, kicking the sheets to the bottom of the bed and revealing his chiseled body. His hands rest cupped over his lower abs, his face the picture of serenity. She smiles at the sight of him, thinking that probably he’s dreaming about sitting at a campfire in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, or driving through a remote highway in Iceland. She lets out a quiet laugh at the idea.

Planning on getting some more rest, the girl engulfs herself with the entire duvet, forming a cocoon around her body. Her feet are left exposed though, because one of the ends of the bedsheets is caught between Rocco’s calves. She huffs and sits down to reach the tangled fabric, when she notices that Lottie is sitting straight up in her bed, staring at her. Her long colorful hair is dangling in front of her face. Her sudden appearance makes Minni internally jump.

It’s been just a few minutes since Lottie woke up, the feeling of uneasiness washing all over her when she remembered what happened last night. She couldn’t avoid fixing her eyes on Minni, who was sleeping soundly in the bed next to her, while she tried to figure out how was she going to approach her friend from now on, knowing what happened between her and Gary. She decided to act like if nothing had happened, and expects Gary to do the same.

She smiles at the blue-eyed girl. “Minni.”

“Bloody hell,” the girl groans, engulfing herself back with the duvet. “What’s wrong with you?”

Lottie feels her stomach tight in a fist. _Does she know?_ she asks herself.

“You almost made me jump,” Minni continues, following with a lighthearted chuckle. “You look so creepy with this lighting, babe.”

The Aussie blinks a couple of times, relaxing. She manages to form a strained smile at Minni’s usual sweetness and laidback attitude. She looks adorable, like a bedsheet worm, her blue eyes bright and looking back at her.

“Good. I like doing that. I’m great at it,” Lottie responds, a devilish smirk in her lips.

The other girl giggles. “I know.”

Suddenly, the lights turn on. Minni mumbles a couple of Romanian curses as she covers her eyes, the bright light hurting her vision. Lottie looks unfazed. Once Minni adjusts her vision, she cranes her head upwards, still with the duvet enveloping her body, and takes a better look at her friend. She figures that she must still be devastated about Hannah getting dumped from the Island.

“How are you doing?” she asks, in a more serious tone. She sits down in her bed.

Lottie bites the inside of her cheek, conflicted. “Not good, honestly. Hannah and I really bonded, and now she’s gone.”

The Cantabrigian pouts, feeling sad for her. “I know it’s not the same, but you still got me,” she says, offering a smile. “I’m here if you need me.”

The blonde girl’s heart shatters into pieces, and she doesn’t know how she maintains her composure at such kind words. Before she can think of something to answer, they hear a rustling sound. Across the room, Gary sits up and looks at both of them.

“Oi! Keep it down you two,” he says.

He is not used to feeling in a bad mood when he wakes up, but yesterday’s events drove a sense of restlessness as soon as he opened his eyes. To top him having kissed Lottie, when he got into bed with Marisol she didn’t look interested in doing anything with him. The only thing she gave him was a peck. This wouldn’t have bothered him too much if he hadn’t heard shuffling and kissing sounds from none other than Minni and Rocco’s bed, for what it seemed like an eternity to him. He knows he shouldn’t think much of it, but all of these bad memories were starting to pile up in his mind, amplifying his discontent.

“Some of us are trying to sleep off an… active night,” he spits out, without giving it a second thought.

He sure wishes he would’ve thought about it first when he sees Minni raising an eyebrow, incredulous, and Lottie opening her eyes wide, thinking he’s referring to their kiss in the bathroom.

“But you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Mins?” he tries to divert the attention by jabbing at her.

The girl decides to respond to his comment graciously, sliding the duvet down to surround her shoulders. “I haven’t even got started,” she smirks, smug.

Gary feels more at ease, comfortable with the banter. “Damn, girl. Don’t keep us up all night!” he follows. “I’ll eventually need my beauty sleep.”

Minni stifles a laugh and turns around, putting an end to the conversation. Gary’s eyes follow her movements as she unwraps herself of the duvet and gently places it over Rocco’s body, who is still in deep sleep. She starts tucking him in and he shifts slightly, turning to his side to face her. Without opening his eyes, he lets out a sigh and unconsciously nuzzles her thigh. She smiles at his gesture, her delicate features lighting up with a soft manner, and starts petting his curly hair.

“Marisol and I had a great time last night. If you know what I mean…” Gary says, getting her attention back.

“I actually don’t know what you mean,” Minni answers, puzzled.

The blond man smirks. “Was meant to be a little spooning. But we may have had a bit of a smooch as well.”

“Ugh…” Lottie rolls her eyes.

The brunette shrugs, a little bothered by having Gary tell her all of this stuff. She’s not a jealous girl, but she can’t deny it stings a bit. So, she decides to mess up with him, just a little. Two can play the same game. “‘A bit of a smooch’?” she asks with a playful grin. “How boring, everyone does that at this point. I thought you were gonna tell us juicier stuff. Besides, I didn’t hear a thing. And I was awake until _really late_ at night.”

“I didn’t think anyone would,” Gary replies, confidently. “I know how to keep it down in here, unlike _some people._ ”

Minni bats her eyelashes. “I don’t get why are you complaining. Look at you, it’s not like need your beauty sleep, anyway.”

The man feels a little taken aback by the unexpected compliment and does his best to not look flustered. “But seriously, I’m like a ninja doing bits.”

“No one notices you come in?” Lottie comments, mischievous.

“Exactly!” Gary responds. He notices Minni is holding back a laugh. “Wait…”

All of the sudden, they see Marisol emerging from under the covers. She rubs her eyes before fixing a frown at Gary.

“What are you talking about?” she says. “It was just a small peck on the lips.”

“Oh, erm, it seemed like more to me…” Gary trails off.

Minni opens her eyes wide at the twist of the situation and wonders what was Gary trying to get out of all of this. She keeps petting Rocco’s hair as she watches the conversation unfold.

“How? It was just a little peck to say ‘goodnight’. I was just being friendly,” Marisol states.

 _Friendly? Yikes_ , the blue-eyed girl thinks. Her sight goes to Lottie, who seems amused by how things are playing out, almost enjoying it. Then, she turns back to watch Gary intently, noticing that he is getting trapped into the situation.

“Well it still felt special.”

“Well, I didn’t mean it to be a whole big deal,” Marisol shrugs.

Gary grits his teeth inside his mouth, feeling totally busted and embarrassed. He casts a look at Minni, who’s cringing at this point.

“You’re such a liar, Gary. It’s already hurt Hannah,” Lottie comments.

His eyes dart to her, a frown in his face. “What are you talking about?” he asks. He thought they had settled the topic yesterday, so her sudden change of attitude confuses him. They even _kissed_ last night. “I was always straight with her. Why are you even bringing this up?”

“It happened last night! You had the chance to save my friend!” she huffs, unable to contain her resurfacing anger towards the crane operator.

Lottie expects Minni to join her, until she sees her rolling her eyes.

“Is it necessary to have this discussion?” the younger girl asks, annoyed.

“Apparently…” Gary responds, scrunching his nose. All of his murky emotions start to fog his mind, anger beginning to boil slowly.

“Hold on, Lottie,” Marisol says. “If Gary hadn’t picked me, I’d have gone home.”

The Aussie’s face flushes, “Look, I’m not saying I don’t want you here, babe. It’s just that Hannah and I were close. I just want my friend back.”

“I still don’t get why you’re having a go at me. And now I have someone I actually want to get to know.” After saying that, Gary splutters and looks at Minni, unable to hold back the words coming out of his mouth. “I mean, I _had_ someone I wanted to get to know, but she got taken off the table before I could choose!”

The blue-eyed girl meets his saddened gaze, perplexed. The raw emotion in his eyes makes her realize that Gary apparently still wants to be with her, after all. Giving his actions from yesterday, the idea that he was trying to move on with other girls had already settled in her mind, right after the Recoupling. She feels bad for messing with him and playing to make him jealous of her new relationship with Rocco, but then she remembers he started the whole conversation in the first place, and lied about kissing Marisol. She just raises her eyebrows at him as a silent response.

Rocco stirs next to Minni, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Whoa, dude. This is a really bad vibe to start the day with.”

Gary feels stuck, not knowing how to handle the situation. Between his jealousy by seeing Minni moving on so quickly, having her pet Rocco right in front of him, Lottie bringing up Hannah’s dumping like if he hadn’t made a huge effort of comforting her last night, and now embarrassing himself by being caught lying about doing bits with Marisol, he is starting to feel like a caged animal. His insecurity increases its intensity, weighing down on his chest.

“It’s Lottie who should calm down, mate,” Gary grumbles, not really knowing where to direct his anger to. Marisol touches his arm, but he shrugs it off, pissed. “No! I’ve barely woken up and Lottie’s already on my case,” he says. Then, he throws a brief look at Minni. “And Minni’s done with it as well,” he mutters.

All of this is overwhelming for him, and suddenly _unwanted thoughts_ start coming his way. He feels like back in high school again, with everyone picking at him for no reason, even when it’s not entirely like that. In this state, everything for him feels augmented, his flaws exaggerated by his own mind. He fights with his emotions as to not to get buried under a pile of self-doubt and lack of confidence.

He looks around the room, then stops frowning. A little voice in his head, which is usually buried deep within and comes out once in a while, has a great solution for all of this: hit the gym, get bigger and bulkier. This way, all of his problems will go away, right? All of his insecurities will vanish as soon as he manages to make his biceps increase in size, his back look stronger, his shoulders appear wider, or that’s what his mind makes him believe. This hasn’t happened to him in such a long time, so he doesn’t notice it’s _wrong_. A grin emerges on his face instead.

“Ha! It’s all bants anyway,” he exclaims, his thoughts convincing him that everything will be okay once he gets a hold on some dumbbells. He jumps out of the bed and heads for the door. “I’m gonna go lift something heavy.”

**At the gym – Later in the morning. [[Link to post](https://cassandracaiin.tumblr.com/post/190328598460/garys-mental-health-an-analysis-of-his)]**

Just like this morning, a long time ago, younger Gary took a hold of the barbell at a small gym in Chatham with the belief that lifting weights would clear away all of his insecurities. After that, everything seemed to spiral down a dark path, as he didn’t realize what he was getting into until it took over his life. By that time, he had gotten a lot bigger he had ever dreamed of, but it never felt enough. His clothes showed evidence of it, a few of his favorite shirts meeting their end thanks to him trying to pull them on or off his new bulky musculature, his pants embarrassingly tight at his thigh area and being donated to one of the many charities his nan still collaborates with. He was grumpier, isolated and _still insecure_. He spent most of his salary on protein shakes and supplements, and most of his time at the gym. People in his life were starting to notice something was off, but never said anything— he looked so healthy and confident on the outside, girls fawning all over him like if they were bees and he was honey, bullies not daring to say anything to piss him off.

In this moment, his mind makes him believe that, perhaps, just like in the past, if he gets bigger now things will get better. He will look healthier and more confident for the cameras, the Villa’s girls will fawn all over him like if they were bees and he was honey, none of the Islanders will dare to say anything to piss him off. Maybe, if he had been more muscular yesterday, he would have stood out enough for Minni not to move on so quickly with Rocco. Possibly, if he had been bigger yesterday, he would have been attractive enough for Marisol to want to do more than peck him on the lips.

The bench press already feels sweaty beneath him as he picks up the pace of his lifting. The thought that he didn’t even bother with changing into his gym clothes briefly crosses his mind; he can’t waste time, he has to gain more muscle now, now, _now._ Be bigger, be stronger, be _better_. He growls from the effort, his biceps and triceps already feeling stiff, his back muscles sore.

“Steady on, lad,” he hears a voice next to him. “You’ll end up injuring yourself at that pace.”

It just takes to hear Rahim’s worried voice for Gary to snap out of it. He hooks the barbell on top of him, his breath coming out in bursts. Sweat drips from his forehead as he takes a look at himself and realizes what he’s been doing. He inhales a shaky breath, disturbed. Muscular dysmorphia could be a scary thing, even for him, who has accepted that he has to deal with it for the rest of his life and has gone through many years of therapy. His eyes go to Rahim, who is standing at the entrance of the outdoors gym, his hands on his hips. Gary can’t discern properly how much time he has been in there.

“Is everything alright?” his mate asks. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Gary gets off the bench press and sits on the floor, over some yoga mats. “Yeah, everything’s hunky-dory,” he responds, not sounding too enthusiastic.

The golfer sighs, seeing right through his façade, and sits down next to him. “Don’t worry, I didn’t come here to scold you about the Recoupling or anything like that,” he states. “Rocco just got a text about some brunch thing planned for this morning. I came here to tell you so you don’t get stuck with the leftovers,” he smiles.

“Thanks, mate. I appreciate it,” Gary replies, rubbing his bicep. His sight is lost somewhere in the grass, as he tries to clear his mind.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ibrahim insists. “You got all brassed off in the bedroom earlier and now you don’t look happy about _food_.”

Gary frowns at he remembers why he got upset in the first place. He looks down. “Well, obviously last night didn’t go as I planned,” he responds. “I certainly wouldn’t wish to anyone having to pick who goes home.”

The other man pats his back reassuringly. “I get you, bruv,” he says. “But, honestly, I don’t think you should beat yourself for it. The only one that’s upset about it is Lottie, and trying to talk sense to her is like flogging a dead horse.”

His last phrase makes the blond smile. “I agree with that one.”

There’s a brief pause, both sitting side by side. Ibrahim waits for Gary to speak again, knowing there is still something bothering him, something he hasn’t told him yet.

“You reckon Minni got her head turned already?” Gary practically spits out.

That’s exactly what Rahim was expecting him to say, or along those lines anyway. “I’m not sure,” he shrugs. “She looks happy with Rocco.”

“She does,” the blonde takes a deep breath before continuing. “Can’t blame him for choosing her, if I’m honest. She was by far the fittest out of the three that were left, and that’s just speaking about their looks… she’s so fun to hang out with,” he continues, his expression softening. “I feel _comfortable_ with her, you know. I wanted to give us another chance to be coupled to find out if I really want to stick with her and take things further, but I guess it stops here.”

Ibrahim sighs and lies with his back against the mat, his hands on the back of his head “Don’t worry, man. If it makes you feel better, you two could have another chance in the future. Maybe even in the next Recoupling. Who knows what could happen next?”

Gary rubs one of his eyes, a bit more relaxed. “You’re right, mate. I have to keep my options open anyways. This is a competition after all,” he repeats his words from before, not sounding too convinced, though. “I really like Marisol too. I want to try out things with her.”

He instantly remembers what happened in the bedroom this morning and cringes internally. He wishes he could get some advice about it, especially because things are not exactly working with her in the short time they’ve been coupled up. Then, his thoughts go to Minni, and the feeling that he can talk to her about _anything_ and expect her to give him her honest opinion sparks his brain. He could ask her for some insight, he reckons, and maybe explain his actions from yesterday too, to clear the air a little bit. Gary makes a mental note to try and chat to her later on, if he has the opportunity.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Rahim pats his back again in a friendly manner and stands up. “Come on, or we’re going to be late for brunch.”

The blond man throws him a sincere smile. “Let me change into something less sweaty and I’ll be there in a jiffy.”

**By the pool – Noon.**

Before rolling to lie on her back, Minni adjusts her sunglasses. She loves the shade of the lenses in this pair; it makes everything around her look light purple. She has been lounging on one of the sun beds, watching Rocco float peacefully on the surface of the pool. After having a great date during the brunch, she feels full, both from a sense of cheerfulness and French toast. Even when she had a great time, she’s not sure yet if Rocco is the one for her. She can’t deny he’s outstanding, handsome and charming, but she can’t decide if she likes hanging out with him just to make fun of his poetic speeches and intense demeanor or because she’s truly into him. Either way, she’s not bothered. It looks like everything is going well for both of them, and she plans to make the most out of their time together.

Her full stomach and the Spanish heat soon have her dozing off, until something blocks the sun. She opens her eyes and looks up, seeing Gary standing over her. There’s a strained smile on his face, instead of his usual confident and warm side-smirk. Just then Minni remembers how weird he’s been acting since this morning. First, he lied about his situation with Marisol, then got all irritated when Lottie talked about Hannah getting dumped and practically escaped to the gym, and after that Minni found him in the living room, sitting with his head bowed. He looked more serious that she’d ever seen him before and asked her if they could have a word in private after brunch. To be honest, she had almost forgotten he wanted to chat, despite having him throwing furtive looks at her during the entire meal.

She slides her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and looks up at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Remember earlier when I said I wanted to chat?” he starts. “Well, is now a good time?”

The girl sneaks a glance at Rocco, who seems to be meditating as he faces the sun. Then, her eyes go back to Gary. She appreciates that he is so interested in talking to her and took his time to approach her not once, but twice. “Sure, I’ll chat with you.”

The blond man’s smile reaches his eyes and he perks up. “Great!” he says. He looks around at the snoozing Islanders. “I’d like to do it somewhere a little more private, though. I’m not one for secrets, but I can’t have the others hear us.”

Minni blinks, curious, as Gary scans the Villa. There’s Islanders in every corner, he notices. Fortunately, an idea appears in his mind. He cracks a smile.

“Fancy a quick workout in the gym?” he asks.

The girl can’t contain a chuckle. “Mate, I just ate a ton. I’m gonna throw up.”

Gary’s expression shows disappointment, his lips almost forming a pout. “C’mon, Mins,” he whines.

Giving his reaction, she decides not to mess around with him anymore, as she understands that he’s being serious. “Fine, I’ll work out with you.”

The girl stands up and stretches, not missing Gary’s eyes lighting up again. Both make their way to the gym without saying another word, and without being noticed by the rest of the Islanders. A few minutes pass until Rocco cranes his head upwards and directs his eyes to the sunbed where he last saw Minni, looking for her.

“Minni, ma cherie!” he says with a smile, before noticing she’s gone. His expression falls.

**At the gym – Noon.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L6Yc_z2XGk)**

Unsurprisingly, none of the Islanders have taken it upon themselves to work out after a full brunch, so the gym is completely empty once the pair gets there. Gary looks Minni over, testing out a few different sets of dumbbells as he tries to figure out how much weight the girl can actually lift. She’s so dainty that he just ends up picking the lightest ones, which weight 5lbs.

“Alright, get on the bench. I’ll give you a brief workout while we chat,” he smiles.

Minni has to contain herself from rolling her eyes, regretting her decision already. Of course she’d rather have a normal chat, but understands that this is important for Gary so she doesn’t push him. She just nods and positions herself on the bench. Next, the man hands her the weights and begins to guide her arms up in a few simple reps.

“Ugh, Gary. These are so heavy,” she groans, struggling to lift the dumbbells properly.

At first he thinks she’s bantering, but then notices that her arms are shaking already. A laugh escapes his throat. “There’s no way you can’t lift them, mate.”

If there’s one thing that characterizes Minni, beyond being soft and chill, is her stubbornness. She throws Gary a glare before frowning and wiggling out of the light grip on her arms. “You know what? I don’t need your help,” she states.

The man lifts his palms in defeat and takes a step back to watch her squirm as she tries to lift both of the dumbbells at the same time. A huge smile forms in his face, entertained by seeing her muttering under her breath, her eyebrows knitted together as she tries to gather as much strength as possible. She’s definitely never hit a gym, he concludes. After a few seconds, he starts thinking it’s useless and considers stopping her attempts, until she actually manages to rise the dumbbells just above her elbows.

“Ha!” she exclaims, looking at him.

Gary smiles back, quite proud. Quickly, however, her arms begin to quiver under the weight, the lock of her wrists weakening. Minni yelps and her big blue eyes widen in panic, not knowing what to do.

“Wait, you’ll hurt yourself,” the man says, worried. He hurries to hold both of her wrists and soon the weight is supported by him.

Minni huffs as a response, but allows him to continue helping her as they stick to the initial workout plan.

“What did you want to talk about, Gary?” she asks.

He sighs. “It’s about Marisol…” he confesses. “I know I got hot-headed this morning. I’m worried I’ve made a right fool of myself.”

Her cobalt gaze scans his face, evaluating her following words. “You also lied about kissing her.”

The girl’s statement hits Gary right away, actually taking him by surprise. Minni was always kind of gentle when breaking things to people— maybe this is not the case. For a moment, as her bitter tone resonates in his head, Gary stares off into the distance, thinking about how utterly dumb he acted this morning. Of course lying about doing bits with Marisol was wrong and would eventually get him in trouble, he doesn’t know how he didn’t think about that when he was blabbing out words and being all cocky earlier today. He was so wrapped up in getting Minni’s attention and in feeling confident and _desired_ that he didn’t consider what the consequences of lying like that could be. He starts pitying himself again, especially because he had to fake that his relationship with Marisol is going well, when everyone else’s is going genuinely fine. And, on top of that, he’s scared that he dug himself a grave in the eyes of the girls.

Unconsciously, he stops guiding Minni’s arms, leaving her to lift the weights just by herself again. Her arms wobble instantly, being sore already for her previous effort. The pull of the weight lowers them down and she whimpers.

“Gary!”

“Huh?”

His heart skips a beat and he rapidly goes back to supporting her arms. Minni sighs from relief, relaxing against the bench.

“Sorry… I was distracted by what you said,” the blond man mumbles, avoiding her eyes. “I really like Marisol…”

Now is Minni’s turn to be taken aback by his words. She already knows he likes Marisol, but hearing him saying it out loud is like poking at her heart with a needle. Particularly because she has never heard him saying that he likes _her_. She feels confused by his confession, but tries not to overthink too much.

Gary notices the girl tensing a little.

“Um, sorry. I still would have picked you if I could have,” he says, honestly.

For a couple of seconds, she just stares at him, perplexed.

“Mate, don’t look at me like that,” the man sighs after a few seconds of silence. “It’s like you don’t believe me.”

Minni’s expression softens a little by seeing his ingenuous eyes watching her face intently. He seems to be telling the truth, but still some other things he’s said and done point the contrary. “I believe you,” she responds. “It’s just… I’m confused.”

Gary maintains eye contact and lets out a long breath, feeling like he couldn’t mess up more today. He wants to get his feelings out in the open but he doesn’t know how. “You’re not the only one, at least,” he smiles, kindly.

He makes Minni crack on an optimistic smile, her eyes brightening a bit. There’s a short pause.

“You were saying?” she asks, wanting to avoid the topic of the feelings for one another, not being ready to sort them out yet, and for him to continue his story instead.

The man shakes his head before speaking again. “Anyway…” he starts. “I was so happy when I got to pick her, and then we were in bed… she wasn’t interested in doing anything, but I kept hearing the _others_. I guess I just wanted to believe that we’d had more than a little peck.”

The situation genuinely pisses Minni off, the soft side of hers taking a step aside as she glares at Gary. She almost feels offended for Marisol, and they roughly get along. But beyond that, she is disappointed of him. When she first met him and during the first couple of days he was nothing but a gent. Now nearly everything he does, he seems to put little thought on.

“What you did was out of order, Gary. That can have a big impact on a girl in here,” she tries to explain. “You have to apologize to Marisol if you haven’t already.”

He stays quiet for a moment, pondering her statement. By now he knows he’s made a mistake and is ready to admit it out loud and make up for it. “You’re right, Minni. I was a complete arse,” he acknowledges. “I’ll tell her sorry next time I see her. Promise.”

“Good.”

A long silence follows, with Gary rhythmically helping her to lift the dumbbells. When Minni looks up to analyze his face, she can’t quite read him. She can’t grasp what’s going on in his head at the moment. He looks conflicted but calm at the same time. It’s odd from him to be this serious.

“Mate, honestly, you’ve kinda been acting weird recently,” she speaks. “You weren’t like this the first days. What changed?”

His crystal blue eyes get fixed in hers and he stops moving his arms. He stays still, his face falling. “I… you’re right,” he says. “It’s just— this game is messing with my head, I reckon.”

Minni nods, comprehending where he’s coming from. She’s starting to feel it too. She knows that in the Villa things tend to look more dramatic than they really are, and soon everyone will overreact over a small situation and blow things out of proportion. “Everyone’s emotions are running high already. This place has this effect. It’s like everything gets amplified.”

“That’s true, but I don’t think it excuses what I did,” Gary points out. “My nan’s probably watching this and shaking her head.”

The girl just sighs as a response and they continue with some more reps, with Gary doing all the job, really. Minni just lets him lift her arms absentmindedly, as he is submerged in his thoughts. She knows he’s not done venting yet, so she waits, trying not to stare at the way his muscles swell whenever he moves. A couple of minutes pass before Gary speaks up again.

“Do you know how Marisol is feeling about me and her?” he asks. “She was really quiet at the brunch. It got awkward.”

Minni bites her tongue to think before answering. This morning during the brunch, Marisol and Hope were talking about said spark, and they asked her for some advice. In honest words, Minni thinks the spark is _everything_ in a relationship, although she didn’t word her response that intensely.

She sighs. “I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you…” she trails off. “But… she said she wasn’t feeling a spark with you.”

Gary whistles through his teeth, pleased by her honesty. “That bloody spark. You know, that’s not the first time a woman’s said that about me,” he tells her. “What even is it? And how do I change it?”

Minni shakes her head at his naïve way of thinking and his lack of knowledge despite probably having being in lots of relationships already. She finds it sweet.

“You can’t just make the spark happen, Gar,” she giggles. “It’s like a way of saying that the two people in a relationship feel something special by being with one another, you know. Something you don’t exactly experience with someone else. It’s this _instant click,_ just like, well, a spark,” she smiles. “I’m not sure what causes it, though, and it’s definitely not a physics thing, because then I’d know,” she winks. “But I reckon not lying about doing bits would be a good start.”

The man raises his eyebrows at her last phrase. “Oh well… I appreciate your honesty, mate,” he replies. “You actually make that spark thing sound quite amazing. A pretty description you made there.”

He takes a moment to reflect about this new information, trying to remember if he’s felt like that before with a bird back home. After a while, he comes to the conclusion that he hasn’t. He has lots of good memories, experiences and adventures, but none of them feel like they have a unique spark to it. When he realizes that he’s been thinking long enough and that Minni must be tired, his eyes go back to her.

“We should probably be getting back to the others. They’ll get suspicious otherwise,” he says.

Gary leans over to help her lower the weights to the ground, catching her pleasant raspberry smell as he does so. He stays still for a couple of seconds, sensing actual gravity, _attraction_ pulling him towards her. Minni’s eyes scan the body towering her, the two of them now close enough to touch. Without knowing what to do, they stay just like that, breathing each other’s air. Once Gary’s eyes meet hers, he doesn’t feel able to look elsewhere. It’s like he is caught in a trance, submerging himself, engulfed in waves, blue waves that resemble the color of Minni’s eyes. He feels _something_ , the same kind of _different_ he felt his first day in the Villa, surrounded by cicadas and under the twinkling night sky. Back in that bloody daybed he subconsciously looks at whenever he walks by, and wonders why in hell the universe decided than him and Minni couldn’t couple up yesterday. Perhaps, just perhaps, this one-of-a-kind feeling has something to do with the spark the girl was telling him about. He’s never felt like this, he’s sure, because if he would have, he would remember— just like his moments with this girl are getting engraved in his memory.

“Minni?” he whispers.

“Yeah?” she responds, her insides fluttering by hearing his voice deepening.

“Have you… do you know what the spark feels like?” he asks quietly, his gaze moving back and forth between her lips and her eyes. “Have you ever felt it?”

“I…” she breathes. The tip of the girl’s nose is touching his, and she can’t think of words to form a proper sentence, less a coherent answer. “I’m not sure. I—"

None of them know who initiates the kiss, just being conscious of the air vanishing around them, and then becoming lighter and smelling like a mixture of peppermint and raspberry. Gary shifts and leans down, the upside-down kiss having a weird orientation, making it unusual and alien. Exciting.

Minni ends up letting the weights fall to the ground and wrapping her hands around Gary’s face, his beard scraping her palms. His lips are soft against hers, his tongue moving with need as it finally parts her mouth. Her heart thumps hard in her chest— if there’s such a thing as the spark, this is it, she concludes.

With his bulky arms supporting his weight against the bench, at both sides of Minni’s face, Gary wishes this could continue forever. He doesn’t want to let go, so his lips linger on hers for a while before he slowly pulls away.

“One for the ‘old’ times, eh?” he jokes, trying to ignore the fact that his knees feel weak.

Now he remembers why he was so settled in Minni the first two days, why he couldn’t get her out of his mind; he feels so attracted to her that it’s almost unreal. Playing the game he’s supposed to play would be easier for him if she wasn’t such a good kisser, if he didn’t feel like _this_ whenever their lips touch. If both of them weren’t coupled up with someone else right now.

“I really would have liked to pick you last night,” he murmurs, caressing her cheek. “I thought, maybe as you were with Rocco now we might be over.”

He dreads on the feeling that they are not supposed to do this, but at the same time he wants to kiss her again so bad that his eyes eventually go back to her lips and his back instinctively leans forward again.

“But there’s clearly something still between us,” he breathes.

Minni’s emotions whirl from bewilderment, the skin around her lips quite sensitive because of the scratching of his beard. The only thing she can think of is that she _wants_. She wants. She craves him and the distance between the two becomes unbearable. The girl leans upward and gently catches his bottom lip between her teeth, lightly tugging him down. Gary groans, both from surprise and from pleasure. _Bloody hell_ , he thinks, his mind buzzing. If this girl is a biter, he’ll be damned.

They kiss again, now more fervently than before. Gary lowers himself even more, resting now on his elbows, and Minni’s fingers are tangled in his pale locks. She bites his lip again and lets out a silent giggle after earning another groan from him. This time is she the one who breaks the kiss, and her hands remain in his hair.

As Gary gains his senses back, the notion that they’re in the Villa, not coupled up and practically hiding in the gym dawns on him. He looks around to see if nobody else saw them, seeing that the rest of the Islanders are nowhere near.

“Look, it’s probably best the others didn’t find out about us doing that just now,” he says, pushing back to stand up normally.

Minni nods, starting to worry too. “I agree. It would be a major scandal.”

She sits up in the bench and looks up at him. He’s blushing.

“And I’ve already got enough people on my case as it is,” Gary adds. “First the Hannah situation, then Lottie gets in my head. You tell me Marisol isn’t feeling the spark. And to cap it all off, I’ve gone and kissed Rocco’s bird, _twice_ ,” he rants. He makes a pause and then facepalms. “What a mess.”

The girl sighs, her thoughts going to Rocco. She feels a sting in her chest, knowing that he’s been nothing but nice to her, all flirty and offering her smoothies and even singing her a song at the brunch. She plans on talking to him about how she feels later on, because she can’t stand being secretive about this kind of things to her partner. Everyone is cracking on with everyone in here and kisses barely mean anything to Minni anyway, so she knows she shouldn’t feel guilty, but the least she can do is let him know that she’s not settled on him just yet.

“We may have been together first, but right now I’m with Rocco and I hate kissing behind peoples backs,” she says, looking at the floor. “It’s awful.”

Gary can see the remorse in her expression and rapidly tries his best to think of something that can make her feel better. “Hey, let’s just… imagine that this never happened, alright?” he suggests. “We just had a nice little chat at the gym and that’s it.”

“None of this happened,” Minni vocalizes, looking at him in the eyes.

“None of this happened,” he repeats, nodding.

They stare at each other for a few seconds, a soft smile appearing on Minni’s face. Gary follows, almost feeling like a mirror of her emotions. He sighs, trying to release some tension.

“C’mon. Let’s get out of here,” he says, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

Without saying another word, the two of them walk back to the lawn in silence. Soon, Minni returns to her position in the sun lounger and notices that Rocco is not in the pool anymore. She puts her light purple sunglasses back on and looks around, scanning the Villa for a few seconds until she spots him. He’s just hanging out with Marisol.

**At the roof terrace – Evening.**

“You okay, babe?”

After the whole post-challenge drama debacle, Minni went up straight to the roof terrace in search for Lottie, while Hope made company to Priya near the infinity pool. She arrived to the terrace a few seconds ago to find her sitting alone, with a crumpled tissue in one hand. As soon as Minni noticed that she was crying, she decided to speak to get her attention before approaching her.

Lottie turns her head around and sees the brunette’s small frame standing near the door. _Awesome, this is exactly what I needed right now_ , she thinks, ironically. She appreciates Minni always trying to look out for people, but now it’s hard for Lottie to talk to her, having the lurking sensation that her little secret could come out in any time, that she could give it away in some way without even noticing. And the other girl being so friendly and nice doesn’t help at all.

“Always, babe,” she simply responds, flashing a smile.

Minni smiles back and goes to sit next to her in the bench, crossing her legs in front of her like she always does. She doesn’t push her to say anything, but tries to meet her green eyes so she can figure out how bad the situation really is. Lottie lets out a small sniffle and turns her face away slightly, embarrassed by having the other girl seeing her crying like this.

“I must look so pathetic right now,” she mutters.

“Not at all, babe,” Minni says, her expression showing worry.

Their eyes meet, then.

“I appreciate you being nice… as always,” the other girl admits. She keeps quiet for a moment before opening up. “Some of what Priya said really got to me. I don’t cry. This isn’t what I do. I’m not this person.”

Despite Lottie being always harsh and confrontational, Minni feels genuine pity for her. She doesn’t like seeing people cry, and less knowing that they’re kind of _lonely_ when doing so. She knows Lottie must be a solitary girl on the outside, a girl with few friends, because of the way she acts. Priya was right about her making cliques and controlling people, but Minni wants to see beyond that and wonders if she does that because she is scared of friends abandoning her too soon. It’s a cycle, though, because those same attitudes lead people to defriend her in the first place.

“You have all the rights to cry when you feel upset,” the blue-eyed girl says gently. “But you don’t have to do it alone. That’s why I came here to make you company.”

Deep on the inside, Lottie feels so thankful for those words and so grateful to have her here but, at the same time, the younger girl’s kindness starts brewing an irrational bitterness deep within her. She thinks that she hates Minni for being so good to her when she doesn’t have to, when in reality she hates herself because she feels that she doesn’t deserve it.

“You didn’t really take a side earlier, though,” she replies, belligerent.

The brunette raises her eyebrows slightly, keeping her cool. “Why would I do that when you both were in the wrong?” she shrugs. “Yes, Priya didn’t have to rub against Noah or whatever, but you didn’t have to have a go at her either, or not the way you did, anyway.”

Lottie rolls her eyes. “What was I supposed to do? Keep quiet?”

“Of course not, girl. But maybe not start attacking her in the dressing room after it was over. Just calling her out in the challenge was enough, at least in my opinion,” Minni states. “It’s not like she went and _kissed him_ or something. It wasn’t a big deal,” she goes on. “Besides, it was part of the challenge. We were all rubbing against each other,” she smiles, trying to lighten the mood a little bit. “I even got into Marisol’s business just for fun.”

The blonde shakes her head at her words, more to expel negative thoughts than because she thinks she’s in the wrong. The more she speaks to her, the more she is sure that she will end up losing her if she finds out about her kissing Gary and keeping it a secret. She realizes this is her opportunity to test the waters in that topic.

“And in Gary’s too,” she comments, shooting her a glare.

Minni looks at her in confusion, but then sighs. “I’m gonna be honest with you, Lotts. I… I couldn’t help it. I really like him,” she confesses.

 _Well, that’s just fucking great_ , Lottie thinks. Now she can’t even say that she didn’t know Minni still likes him. She avoids her eyes as the girl continues speaking with a calm and candid tone.

“But things are going good with Rocco too, and I like him a lot so I’m not bothered, you know. But Gary and I—” she pauses, noticing that’s she’s giving too much away. “Nevermind. That’s not why I came here for. We could talk about it another day, yeah?”

Lottie just nods, thankful for the interruption.

“As I said, Priya is not a bad person, and it can’t be easy feeling like everyone’s talking about you just because you arrived last,” the brunette continues. “She’s actually an honest person, I reckon.”

“Is it really that much better to be betrayed to my face rather than my back?” Lottie spits out, knowing perfectly that she’s being a hypocrite right now.

Minni nods. “Well, yeah. I’d rather have her tell me she wanna try it with my guy at my face rather than seeing her sneaking around. At least she owned it when you called her out on it,” she answers.

The blonde sets her jaw and sits a little straighter. Her hand clutches the tissue, tense. “In that case, just, like, don’t betray me at all!” she huffs. “I’m sorry, but show some kind of remorse, don’t be so insensitive about it all?”

After gushing words like that, she makes a pause, with Minni throwing her a glare meant to tell her that she should calm down. She lets out a long breath and takes some time to wipe tears from the corner of her eyes before proceeding.

“It just makes it feel like she’s not here for love,” she confesses, in a quieter voice. “This could be my only chance to find the one.”

The blue-eyed girl takes a while to respond, just because she remembers that she isn’t in here exactly for love either. She came here to have fun and meet new people, not precisely dreaming of finding Mr. Right. “Priya wants the same thing,” she shrugs.

“Please, she doesn’t need any help. Guys fall on their knees for her,” Lottie replies, resentful. “Like, maybe she should give the rest of us a chance.”

“Babes,” the brunette puts a hand on her thigh, trying to make eye contact. “If your man, the man you think is _the one_ , drops you for another girl, in this case Priya, then he’s not the one. If he does it in here, I guarantee you that he will do it on the outside too, with another girl.”

Lottie sighs. “You’re… actually making a lot of sense. Maybe I should give her more of a chance,” she says. “But I’m not going to be her friend.”

“Whatever,” Minni chuckles at her stubbornness. It’s the only thing in which they are alike. She stands up, preparing to walk towards the door, her impressive platforms surprisingly not making any noise as they touch the floor. Her glittery silver mini dress shines with the dim light as she starts walking away. “This went better than I expected, if I’m honest.”

The blonde smiles lightly and takes a deep breath. “Thanks for the talk, Nini.”

Perplexed, the blue-eyed girl raises an eyebrow at the unexpected nickname. “It’s Minni, with an M,” she banters.

In this moment, Lottie is damn well aware that she is trying to overcompensate. Her confused mind makes her think that being extra nice to Minni could somehow erase the mistake she made last night, that she could use her good behavior as kind of a shield in the future, when she inevitably finds out what happened. But at the same time she considers her to be an actual friend, and feels that she has to demonstrate somehow that she’s thankful for her efforts in making her feel better and making her company, without actually saying it out loud.

“I know. I just thought it was time to give my best friend in here a proper nickname,” she responds.

 _Best friend?_ Minni questions. So far, the only person the younger girl considers a best friend in here is Bobby, but she feels flattered by the title coming from Lottie, even if it’s not exactly mutual right away.

“That’s so nice from you, babes. I appreciate it,” she says. Before walking away and opening the door, she winks at her, her cobalt eyes bright with the moonlight. “See you later, yeah?”

Lottie just smiles as a response, the cool night breeze slightly blowing her pastel pink colored hair. Once the door closes behind Minni, her amiable front falls, leaving her to cover her face with her slender and pale hands out of pure shame.

**In the kitchen – Evening.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDhaEgUBQwA)**

With a tight hold around the knife, Gary slides it down the loaf of bread. He’s frustrated already— he just wants a bloody sandwich, but can’t even seem to get a proper slice of bread. Indeed, cooking has never been his forte, to say the least. He can fix apparatuses, design small robotic circuits and operate heavy machinery, but his cooking skills don’t go beyond preparing a good cuppa and mixing milk and cereal.

He wishes he could make more elaborate things, though. Back in his teens, his nan tried to teach him some of her recipes, but then again he always ended up making a huge mess in her kitchen. He was so bad at it that they stopped trying, and she began making all of his meals for him, this habit getting carried on to his adult years. The thing is, he doesn’t know that one of the reasons she does it, beyond taking care of his grandson and pampering him, is to keep an eye on him; she is secretly making sure he eats a little bit of everything instead of pure protein and supplements like during his worst days, like a few years ago. Now Gary is just convinced that he was born with a cooking curse or something like that, when in reality is just a combination of poor talent and complete lack of practice.

Once more, the bread scrunches with the weight of the knife and then breaks into small pieces. Gary grunts and discards the messed up slice to one side, prepared to try again. By now, he starts thinking that maybe what is getting in the way for him to do such an easy task, or at least something he should be able to do even when he’s so bad at manipulating food, are his feelings about how things are going with Marisol. He apologized for lying before today’s challenge and she accepted it politely, although she didn’t look too convinced. After that, she became frostier, if possible, preventing him from bringing up the topic of _the spark_ in the conversation they were having. She’s been avoiding him since then, which is obviously not good at all.

Now he doesn’t know if he’s frustrated because he can’t make himself a simple sandwich or because he really wanted things to work with Marisol and she’s not even putting in the effort, kind of leaving all the weight of their relationship on his shoulders. She doesn’t seem interested in him anymore.

Then again, he tries to butter a slice of bread, but it disintegrates into crumbs under the knife.

“Dammit!” he says.

He looks around and sees Minni coming in the kitchen. She looks calm, much to his surprise, because he is aware that she and Hope have been trying to solve the whole drama that erupted between Priya and Lottie during and after the challenge. He expected her to look a little more tense, but is glad that she seems to be in a good mood.

“How does Bobby make this look so easy?” he tells her, pointing at the bread. “It’s the same butter! He did it in, like, one swish.”

“Swish?” the girl asks, getting closer to him and leaning forward against the counter to take a better look. Pastrami, pickles and various condiments lie strewn across the counter in front of him. She guesses that he made this disaster just by himself, because he’s alone in here, and is kind of shocked.

“You know… swish!” he responds, waving his hand in front of him. “But I can’t do it. I’ve messed up like half this loaf of bread. I just want a sandwich!”

Minni sighs. “Need a hand?”

“I already had Bobby try and show me all his tricks,” Gary pouts, giving up. “I appreciate the offer, though.”

“Oh, c’mon,” the girl smiles, in an attempt to cheer him up. “Don’t give up just yet.”

Gary rolls his eyes, letting go of the knife. “Mate, I’ve been trying for at least half an hour already. Besides, if I keep going I’ll leave the Villa without bread at all.”

His statement makes Minni giggle. She walks around the counter to position herself at his side.

“Pick up the knife,” she orders with a soft voice.

“Minni…” he sighs, too frustrated to give it another try.

Gary is seriously thinking about rejecting her help again, but when he sees her looking up at him with her big, twinkling and blue puppy eyes he can’t say no. It’s not fair, he thinks, for her to use her charm to make him do what she wants. After letting out a sigh, he takes a hold on the knife and places it over the loaf of bread once more. Unexpectedly, Minni places her small hand over his with intentions to guide him. His eyes go to her, and she looks back at him with an innocent smile.

“Mate, your hand is too stiff. You don’t have to hold it like that,” she laughs shortly and wiggles his hand a little so he relaxes his muscles. “Much better. Now just follow me.”

Delicately, she pushes his hand a bit so the knife goes down, then leans a little forward and slides down carefully. Gary is not sure if he is picking up the technique properly, focusing more on the feeling of her hand over his. Her skin is so soft and her hand is so tiny in comparison to his; he notices that her largest finger is almost as long as his pinky. He smiles.

“How I suppose you know how to use a handsaw,” she says, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Do the same motion, but gently.” After nodding, Gary starts to slide the knife forwards and then backwards, just like when he uses a handsaw. The bread starts to crumble right away. “ _Gently_ , Gar,” Minni throws him a glare.

He chuckles at the situation. “I’m being gentle, Minerva.”

“Then be gentler,” she orders. He lets out a puff and does the same, but slower and more thoroughly. The bread starts getting parted in a smooth way. “That’s it!” Minni exclaims, content.

Soon, the slice falls to the side, cut evenly. Gary looks at it, baffled. He can’t believe that he was able to cut it himself. His light blue eyes go to Minni, an almost childish glimmer on them. She smiles widely, truly proud, and lets go of his hand.

“Now cut the next one all by yourself,” the girl says.

Feeling confident, Gary positions the knife over the load of bread and tries his best, following the pattern he remembers. Push, a little forward, slide down carefully. Despite his efforts, the bread crumbles once the blade gets to the middle of the slice.

“Argh, come on,” he growls.

Minni laughs. “Maybe you need a little more practice,” she comments. Next, she takes the knife from him and cuts a slice by herself. She hands it to him with a wink. “Here you go. Enjoy your sandwich.”

The blond man’s expression brightens. “Thanks, love,” he smiles. “Want one?”

“Yes, and you’re welcome,” she responds.

After cutting two loafs for her own sandwich and letting Gary pick whenever combination of ingredients he pleases for the both of them, Minni sits on the stool next to him. Despite his fingers being deft and his movements coordinated, he can’t make the ingredients balance over the bread. She watches him work, enjoying the sight of him fully concentrated, his nose slightly scrunched. She does that a lot, she notices.

“So… big ol’ Gary can’t make a sandwich,” Minni teases with a smirk.

Gary looks up to meet her gaze and then scowls. “Hey, I’ve trained in a bunch of other skills in my life,” he responds. “Can you operate a crane?”

“I could learn,” she shrugs. “I bet you are a great teacher,” she adds, batting her eyelashes.

His frown vanishes, being replaced by heat creeping to his cheeks. “What a line, that,” he smirks.

Biting the inside of her lip, Minni stares at him. She really likes that smug expression he has when flirting, how much he enjoys those types of jabs and playful conversations. “So…” she gestures him to continue his previous idea.

The blond man’s face turns a little more serious. “I’ve just not needed to make much food before,” he sighs. “My nan usually makes my food for me.”

“That’s sweet of her,” the girl smiles.

Gary smiles back. “That’s her all over. Temper of thunder, heart of pure gold,” he declares. “She just wants to make sure her family is looked after.”

With a sense of _comfortability_ and easiness settling in his mind, he goes back to making the sandwiches. Gary knows straight away that it’s because he’s hanging out with Minni, having a candid and chill conversation with her, which makes him forget about all the drama and competitiveness surrounding him. Deep down, he feels like if he was just in his kitchen, chatting to a long-time pal. The man wishes his chats with Marisol could be like this.

After seeing him staring at the counter for a moment, quiet and without doing anything, Minni decides to speak. “Is there something in the matter?”

The crane operator tries his best to divert the attention, not wanting to vent more about how bad his couple situation is, because it makes him feel _insecure_. “You sure you don’t want some pickles with yours?” he asks, evading her question and pointing at her sandwich.

“Gary…” Minni insists.

“No pickles, got it.”

She throws him a glare for his dismissive response, but he avoids returning the look, focusing on putting ingredients on their sandwiches instead.

“I’m fine, mate. Seriously,” he persists. “I was just hangry. You know? Hungry and angry…”

Minni raises an eyebrow, their sights finally meeting and her deep ocean eyes piercing his. Just like earlier on, he thinks it’s not fair. He can’t lie to her when she is looking at him like that. He feels exposed, bare. It’s like she was seeing right through his eyes and into his mind directly.

“Things haven’t got any better between me and Marisol,” he confesses, after all. “I guess it’s like she said. The spark just isn’t there.” He bows his head, disillusioned. “At this point, the person I’m closest with in here is you.”

Despite being incredibly happy to hear him admit that he feels close to her, Minni feels sad that things are not working for him. She knows that having him mess up things this morning could have something to do with it, but she can’t put all the blame on him either, less considering that Marisol is convinced that they don’t have any spark.

The brunette puts a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Don’t feel bad about it. I’m sure things will be alright,” she tells him, sincerely.

Gary offers her a sad smile. “I’m proper kicking myself for not picking you at the Recoupling.”

She returns the smile, just as bummed out by the situation they’re both immersed in. She suddenly remembers today’s slime challenge, Marisol’s uncomfortable face as she had to rub against Gary, and feels sorry for him. But then she remembers the cheeky grin on his face as she got close, as she slowly shimmied up and down his body. She remembers how he stopped her mid-shimmy just to draw a silly smiley face on her belly, one that she kind of felt bad to wash away in the shower. She bites her lip at the idea of how thankful she felt at the moment for being covered in that goo so he couldn’t see her actually blushing, even though he was red-faced himself. Minni feels actually happy for making him feel better, regardless of being insecure about him being the one she wants to stick with.

From this distance, she can feel the characteristic warmth of his body. The two of them start leaning towards one another, their faces getting tantalizingly close.

“Damn it, Gary,” the girl sighs, pulling back before they get to a distance from where she knows she won’t be able to back down.

Despite Minni considering that kisses are not that big of a deal, she still feels bad for kissing Gary without Rocco knowing. She has always considered kisses just a part of flirting in general, and not that important if they’re given without compromising or deep feelings involved, but she’s not sure if Rocco thinks the same and that makes her aware that he could feel majorly offended if his opinion differs from hers. Minni always has in mind that it takes two to make a couple and that if they want to work, they have to agree in this stuff. If both are okay with kissing other people, then so be it, but if not, they will have to come to an agreement and meet in the middle. What worries her the most is that they haven’t talked about it yet and she has already kissed Gary twice. She likes Rocco a lot and she can’t do this to him.

“What did I do?” Gary asks, sheepish.

The girl shakes her head and gestures at him. “Exist,” she responds, shortly.

His lips curve into a cheeky smile. “No need to explain. I’m irresistible.”

She rolls her eyes and slaps him on the arm. Before she can put more distance between them, he grabs her upper arm and Minni lets him pull her in closer. She lets out a chuckle and places a hand on his chest.

“Are you finishing the sandwiches or not?” she asks, trying to change the subject. “I’m starving.”

After blinking a couple of times and trying to figure out where’s her mind at, the man’s eyes go to the sandwiches, and then back at her. “The sandwiches. Right.”

He lets go of her and returns to his original task. Minni stays sitting on the stool, patiently waiting for her sandwich to get finished— or what could be called a sandwich anyway, because at this point both have in front of them two piles of pastrami, mayo, pickles and other condiments between two evenly cut slices of bread, hardly balanced and holding together.

Honestly, Gary was hoping to keep cracking on a little, maybe even earn another one of her heavenly kisses, but he noticed right away when Minni put a barrier between them. He understands why, though. He also feels pretty sketchy for kissing behind Rocco and Marisol’s backs. Not that he regrets it, but he understands that it could be a source of misunderstandings and arguments. Maybe toning down their flirting like they did now until they can couple up again would be a good idea, more knowing that in the Villa there’s enough drama as it is. And he has the hunch that they still will be attracted to each other by the time the next Recoupling comes, so he doesn’t feel the need to rush things as they still try to figure out the game they’re immersed in. However, despite knowing this is the right thing to do, why is he regretting it already?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not sure if i liked how this chapter turned out on its entirety because i had to deal with a lot of confusion coming from all of the characters. next chapter is bound to be a lot more dramatic and more intense, because we know there's some snakes in the Villa that have been up to some stuff ;) so most things will make sense♥ see you soon.


	6. Day 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She’s not sure of how much time she’s been here, or how much time has passed since Priya left her here. The only thing she is sure about is that she still feels overwhelmed by everything that has taken place, and not just by the Rocco situation. Before entering the Villa, she knew it was a forced environment of drama and pressure, but she never thought it would be her the unlucky one to have to experience two major adversities already. If only, this makes her feel even worse, even more resentful— Minni is under the impression that she has a target on her back or something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys♥ so i skipped writing for Day 5 of the game because nothing really relevant to the story happens, so there's a one day time jump at the begining. also, i just wanted to give a quick shoutout to the beautiful persons who comment✧･ﾟ: * seriously you're the best. that's it, i hope you like this chapter✿

**Day 6**

**In the bedroom – Morning.**

“A day in the sun and enough sexy men to make two boy bands?” Priya grins. “Or three Man-2-Man strip acts…”

The girls are sitting in their beds, taking advantage of the fact that all of the boys but Noah are outside in the gym to gossip and give their opinions on the new arrivals. Minni is sitting cross-legged over the duvet, her hair slightly messy and with her a set of white silk pajamas with a silver star pattern still on. The brunette giggles at Priya’s comment, feeling in a good mood.

Since the two new boys arrived to the Villa, Minni has been having quite the time of her life. Yesterday, she was asked not on one, but on two dates, one with each, both of them showing lots of interest in her. Even before that, as soon as they got to the Villa, she perceived flirty vibes from them, which was a great excuse to put her flirting skills at display during the day, being subtle enough so Rocco didn’t feel stepped on. Although she doesn’t like being the center of attention, Minni couldn’t help but to feel like she was on top of the world— or on top of the Villa, at least.

As for the boys, Henrik caught her eye right away. He is blond, after all. But she’s not exactly sure if all of his wilderness aura is of her liking, because she’s too much of an urban, city girl. Lucas is not exactly her type straight away, but during their date she noticed that they actually have a lot in common. He seems so smart and cultured too, and that’s such a plus in her eyes. Besides, he has this sarcastic, blunt humor that Minni enjoys to witness. He already managed to give a couple of boys a run for their money in terms of banter and they didn’t even notice, which was even funnier.

Although the new boys are eye-catching, at the very minimum, she’s not thinking of dropping Rocco for them right away. So far, new boy Henrik seems to be a good option to consider, but does she like him more than Rocco? She’s not sure yet. Things have been going great with him after all, especially since yesterday, despite her being quite busy. They had such a great time together after the dates, with Minni even trying a meditation session with him. She didn’t feel any different afterwards whatsoever, but it had been an excuse to get a little closer than they normally would and to make fun of whatever mystical, being-one-with-the-universe speech he came up with at the moment.

“Or we choose one boy to each be our servant for the day, and then we make the two leftover boys wrestle,” Lottie suggests with a smirk.

Minni cringes internally. “Mate,” she laughs, scratching her forehead.

“Well, whatever your thing is…” Hope responds, thinking the idea was awkward too. “Today is going to be fun!”

Now with more boys than girls in the Villa, they all feel that they have the power back, which is nice. It has helped to tone down the forced rivalry aura that has been looming since the first Recoupling, and has given space for some of the most competitive girls, like Marisol and Lottie, to have a friendlier attitude.

After getting ready for the day, Minni goes back to the bedroom to put her jammies back in her drawer near the bed. She takes her time to neatly arrange her stuff so none of her belongings get lost in the tumultuous mess of clothing that are the dressing room and the bedroom, and next she puts a pair of turquoise sunglasses on, to match her swimming suit. She’s just about to head outside when Rocco catches up with her.

“Oh, Minni,” he smiles, taking her hand. “That outfit is certainly pleasing on the eye.”

She chuckles. “Thanks, Rocco.”

He gets quiet for a moment, and she guesses that he’s just thinking of something deep to flatter her with, like comparing the turquoise color of her clothing to a recondite lake in Croatia or something along those lines, until she notices that his emerald eyes acquire a concerned expression as he glances around.

“Have you got a minute?” he asks.

“Sure. I’ve always got time for you,” the girl responds, kindly.

“I love that. Time is such a precious resource. It’s never wasted with you.”

Minni playfully rolls her eyes at his words. Rocco just smiles and takes both of her hands to guide her so both are sitting down on the edge of their bed.

“Anyway, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to find out where your head’s at. With the new boys coming in and everything,” the boy tells her. “I know you said before that you thought you might be mates with them, but I wanted to know how you felt this morning.”

The blue-eyed girl thinks for a moment before giving a definitive answer. Indeed, yesterday she told Rocco that she wanted to be mates with the new boys, because that’s always her first approach to get to know someone, and after things got easier for her to deal with, she didn’t feel the need to tell him about what happened with Gary. She did tell him, though, before their meditation session, that she wasn’t settling on him yet and that she wanted to keep her options open. Rocco wasn’t pleased by the idea, but Minni managed to use the right words to explain to him how she felt, so he ended up understanding her point and the tense conversation turned into a positive and open chat for the both of them. Regardless of her insisting that he could get to know another girl if he wanted to, he was persistent in the idea that the only one who he felt a special connection with was her, so they decided to meet in the middle. After that, Minni reassured him and told him that she would let him know if she was getting her head turned, which hasn’t exactly happened.

“Well, I’m definitely going to chat to them. Both are nice blokes, I reckon,” she smiles, of course referring to a friendly chat.

In an instant, Rocco lets go of her hands, his face showing that he is mildly pissed off.

“What?” the girl asks, confused. “It’s not like I said I’m going to jump ship or anything.”

He shakes his head and avoids her gaze. “It’s just… you already know I’m not exactly fine with you grafting on other people,” he says.

Getting irritated by his words, Minni raises an eyebrow. She told him yesterday what her thoughts on jealousy are, making it very clear that she didn’t like that behavior at all. Besides, is not that she needs his permission to chat with other boys or get flirty if she wants to. One thing is not wanting to trade on Rocco’s toes by directly grafting other boys, but another completely different is letting him tell her what she can’t or can do. In favor of not wanting this conversation to turn into an argument, Minni swallows her anger and takes a more chill approach, instead of escalating things right away.

“Don’t be that guy, Rocco,” the brunette responds, looking at him straight in the eye. “You know I don’t rate jealousy and how toxic I think it is.”

“I know,” the boy sighs, calming down. “I guess I just didn’t expect you to come out and say that so openly, to be honest.”

“But we agreed to be open about our intentions, didn’t we?” Minni says. “We’re not playing games with each other here. If I want to chat to them and get to know them, I will, and I’ll let you know just like I did now. And I also told you I want to be _friends_ with them, it’s not that I’m not going to crack on.”

Rocco lets out a long breath, nervous, and takes her hands in his again. “I’m not, like, saying I thought you were going to… I was just trying to be upfront about it.”

“Well, I appreciate you being honest, but your wording sounded… controlling,” she states, calm. “And, honestly, the main thing that would make me not want to recouple with you is exactly this jealous attitude.”

After her response, Rocco nods, understanding. He doesn’t say anything else, his head bowed and looking at their hands together.

Minni despises jealousy, but she lets him have this one just because she knows that emotions in the Villa are running high for all of the boys, and one can get insecure easily. She remembers how nervous she was with that whole Priya situation was happening, so she understands that it could lead one to not think properly before speaking. But next time he tries to shove jealousy into their relationship, he’s out.

“We’re all good, aren’t we?” she breaks the silence, caressing the back of his hand to get his attention back.

“Of course,” he offers her a strained smile. “Obviously this is great for you girls. We loved it when there were more girls in the Villa, but it’s not fun now the shoe is on the other foot. One of us boys is definitely in danger at the next Recoupling and we’re all feeling it. Why else do you think Gary’s been out there doing weights all morning?”

Minni smiles back. “Don’t worry about it too much, trust me.”

With that, she notices his green eyes glimmer as he looks at her. The smile on his lips widens and he takes her face with both hands, reserving a moment to stare at her eyes before kissing her briefly. When he pulls back, Minni has just processed the last phrase he just said. She hasn’t talked to Gary since they ate sandwiches together and barely saw him yesterday, with this being one of the main reasons why she got her head turned back to Rocco, plus the new boys being a distraction. She wonders how is he doing with this whole situation.

“Wait a minute… did you say Gary is lifting weights?”

“Yeah, why?” Rocco responds, confused.

Minni fights a grin, and then shrugs. “Nothing.”

Her next stop will be definitely the gym— taking a peek at what he’s doing there and how he looks doing it won’t hurt anyone, anyway.

**At the gym – Later in the morning.**

Since the new boys arrived yesterday, Gary has been a mess. Things were going relatively bad for him already, his insecurities starting to rise, him not being solid with Marisol at all and Minni getting her head turned, their arrival being the icing on the cake. Because of that, he has been hitting the gym more often and remaining there for a longer time than necessary, not being conscious that it could actually make him feel worse on the long run, this actions just being his disorder slowly coming to surface once again. He feels like back in high school, when he wasn’t special until he got more muscular.

Despite trying his hardest, things with Marisol haven’t gotten better. She barely talked to him yesterday and this morning, and has kept her distance and avoided him as much as she can. Thanks to that, he has resorted into getting to know Lottie better, who has taken the time to approach him in various occasions. Since they kissed, he might as well get to know her and figure out if he has feelings for her or not and give her a chance. She’s incredibly attractive, physically, and he kind of likes her banter, but her whole dramatic and exaggerated demeanor still throws him off.

He was hanging out with her at the gym when Henrik arrived and turned her attention to him, and they ended up taking about home remedies, practically leaving Gary out of the conversation. At first he felt jealous and swallowed it out by taking a step aside and adding another 20lbs to each side of the barbell, as he kept quiet. But later on, when everything they were talking about began to sound uninteresting and pretty much like his nan’s recipes, he was finally able to focus completely on working out.

Gary is now on his third set of reps when he hears a sweet, silky voice next to him.

“Alright?”

He stops lifting and wipes his brow. When he looks up, he sees Minni’s delicate figure standing next to him, using a nice one-piece swimming suit with matching sunglasses on the top of her head. She looks stunning— he can’t help but to scan her body up and down briefly. He hasn’t really talked to her in a while, and since the two new boys picked her on dates she was nowhere to be seen yesterday’s afternoon, so he didn’t have the chance to approach her and have a proper one-to-one chat like he would’ve liked. He would be lying if he said he didn’t miss her yesterday.

In honest words, it hasn’t been easy for him having to watch Lucas and Henrik being all over her, all flirty and making her actually smile and laugh without trying too much. Marisol told him that Minni is already into the two of them and, because of that, Gary has been forcing himself to accept the fact that in her eyes he’s no longer the big fish in the pond anymore, and that’s without considering that her and Rocco look quite solid by now. All of this has made Gary feel like a mess— he understands why people feel attracted to Minni and is glad that she is receiving the compliments and positive attention she deserves, but at the same time it is inevitable for him to feel sad, blaming himself for missing the opportunity with her.

“You’re not into any of this stuff either, then?” the blond man asks with a smile, trying to play it cool.

“I don’t even know what they’re talking about,” she chuckles.

“Me neither, really. I’m not about any of these herbal remedies. Doesn’t seem very scientific, to me,” Gary says, turning to a sitting position.

Minni giggles and sits on the now empty space next to him. “Tell me about it. I know for a fact that most of them don’t work and will never work. Just placebo effect, I reckon.”

“Oi, I tend to forget you’re a _science girl_ ,” he teases, poking her side. “C’mon, say something sciencey.”

“Are you mocking me?” the girl questions, raising her eyebrows. She tries to act like she’s pissed off but there’s no way she’s convincing Gary, not when he sees her eyes glimmer like that. Maybe she could fool him with her sunglasses on.

“No, not at all,” he grins. “I just want to talk some legit stuff, rather than magical herbal medicines.”

Seeing that he is genuinely interested in what she has to say, Minni thinks for a few seconds before an idea comes to mind. “Okay, let me see…” she says. “How about… did you know you can make a liquid levitate?”

The crane operator opens his mouth, taken by surprise. “What? Really?” he asks. “Isn’t that, like, magic too?”

“No, mate. It’s thanks to the Leidenfrost effect,” Minni motions with her hands and wiggles her fingers, beaming. “It happens when a liquid comes in contact with an object that is a lot hotter than the liquid’s boiling point. When this happens, the liquid doesn’t boil right away, as you’d expect. Instead, it hovers over the superheated surface, suspended on a tiny cloud of its own gases,” she explains.

Gary listens to her with attention, while he marvels at the thought that this tiny and smiley girl seems to know about everything in this world. And yes, smart birds aren’t new to him; he has gone out with a few before, although most of them ended up being entitled, and none of them were like Minni. He adores the fact that she throws random facts just for fun and to keep the conversation going, just for the sake of _sharing_ , without having in mind that everything that comes out of her mouth makes her look smarter and smarter. The man realizes that, even when the most she does during the day is giggle and banter with the lads, she could never look dumb or superficial in any way, and he finds it such an special trait of hers.

“Mate,” he exhales, leaning towards her, intrigued.

“We could actually try it someday,” Minni suggests.

“No way! How?”

“Well, by sprinkling water into a really hot frying pan,” the girl starts. “At first, the droplets will zip around the pan’s surface, before they start to boil and evaporate. Over 200°C, if I remember correctly, we will reach past the Leidenfrost point and the bottom surface of the water droplet will turn to vapor so quickly that this same vapor will create the isolation and pressure necessary to keep the droplet aloft, like tiny a hovercraft.”

Gary shuffles in his place, taking in the new information. “You mean that this, with the right tech, could be used to make things float in the air or something? Like, building a hot surface and using the steam and the water's force to lift things?”

Quite surprised by his clever reasoning, the brunette opens her eyes slightly wider. _Is this bloke a smart cookie?_ she asks herself, analyzing his strong features. “It has kind of been made already. There are this people who used a dry ice device on water to create a self-propelled dry ice hovercraft, although this is different from the 'hot' Leidenfrost phenomenon I told you about. You’ll see—"

“Hey, guys. What are you two up to?” Lottie interrupts them.

As soon as she noticed Minni and Gary chatting alone, she decided to step in. Yesterday, she benefited from the fact that Minni was distracted by the new boys and Rocco to graft on Gary practically the entire day without her noticing, and she is not going to lose ground just now. Standing in front of them, imponent, Lottie smiles, not feeling too sorry for cutting their chat short. Now that she feels that she has an actual chance with him, her guilt for kissing him in secret is dying down, and instead she’s trying to make the most out of this time with him and see where it goes.

“Talking floating liquids,” Minni smiles sweetly, not mad by the interruption. “What were you talking about?”

“We were just comparing notes about workout techniques, and we started talking about homemade muscle ointments,” Henrik replies. “I love hearing new ideas for homemade balms.”

“I like the recipe but I don’t know if I’m really into climbing, to be honest,” Lottie says.

“What’s not to like?” the wilderness instructor shrugs. “It’s a great couple’s activity. It’s so romantic being out in nature, and you get a full-body workout together too.”

Lottie crosses her arms in front of her chest. Henrik seemed like a good option when he first came in, but the more he talks about outdoors activities and the more she compares him to Gary, the less she fancies him. She’s not realizing that her non-stop focus on Gary and everything he does could actually become something worse in the long run. As she feels closer to him, she is starting already to believe that he is the only boy for her in the Villa.

“I know all about that. I don’t think I’ve ever been as sore as the day after my ex took me rock climbing. And not in a good way,” she responds.

“This is where my homemade ointment comes in!” Henrik grins enthusiastically, despite her dismissive answers. “Having a partner to climb with is great, but massaging each other afterwards is the best bit about a day on the rocks.”

“Mate, I would like to try all that wilderness stuff, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to climb a rock in my life. I’m super weak,” Minni pouts. Her open-minded attitude makes much contrast with Lottie’s indifference, in the boy’s eyes.

“I’ve witnessed that. Her arms are just so feeble,” Gary banters, reaching out to squish her bicep with a mischievous grin on his face.

“Shut up, Rennell,” she swats him away, holding back a laugh. “Anyway, maybe I’d rather skip straight to the massage.”

The sudden comment makes Henrik flush, and Lottie smiles after seeing his reaction. She knows that she should feel jealous of Minni’s natural ability to tumble down men’s defenses like that, but sometimes the way they act after hearing one of her typical one-liners it’s just too funny for her to ignore or to be mad at.

“Um…” the man tries to say something, but no words come out.

Lottie smirks. “He’s so sweet when he’s flustered.”

Once Henrik regains his composure, he turns to Minni and starts speaking. “I thought you were going to be too much high-maintenance, fashion girl for someone like me… but I guess I was wrong,” he smiles, trying to be nice.

“Do I give that appearance?” Minni, her face falling. It’s not that she feels exactly offended by it, but it does make her feel weird knowing that boys could think that she’s hard to approach just because of the way she looks like.

The Swedish shrugs. “I don’t know. The point is, I need to find someone who doesn’t mind getting a bit sweaty with me.”

 _Is that an innuendo?_ the brunette asks herself, perplexed. She turns to meet Lottie’s eyes, who is hiding her giggling with her hand, entertained by the entire situation.

“Mate, you don’t hold back, do you?” Gary interrupts.

“What do you mean?” the other man asks.

“I thought I was an open kind of guy, but you just straight up told Minni what you think about her,” he explains. “And then all the talk about massaging people and getting sweaty together? It’s like you just come out with that stuff without worrying about how it sounds.”

“I suppose I don’t,” Henrik admits with an amiable smile. “I know being direct, or talking about something sensual like a massage can be a bit unusual for some people. I have to be clear and direct the whole time when I’m at work.”

Gary’s expression turns less prickly and soon the conversation turns into the boys bonding over safety rules at their worksite. Minni thinks of listening to what they have to say, but Lottie pulls her aside, frustrated for not being the center of attention anymore.

“That didn’t work as I planned. They’re really going to make us work for their attention?” the Aussie says.

The blue-eyed girl casts a brief look to both men, and notices Gary has turned back to the weights bench and Henrik has started spotting him, not acknowledging the girls’ presence at all. She raises an eyebrow, intrigued by the situation.

“They’re just playing hard to get, hun. I bet we can win them back just by throwing a couple of flirty phrases,” she grins. “It should be easier than solving a linear equation.”

“Then why don’t we try and see if we can turn their heads?” Lottie proposes.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Minni replies, a mischievous sparkle in her big cobalt eyes.

With the purpose of getting the boys’ attention, they start talking out loud about machinery and wilderness activities, with a flirty and provocative tone adorning their voices. They’re not even a couple of phrases in and the two men are already flustered. Gary doesn’t stop lifting, but smiles because he’s pretty sure he heard Minni saying he was the fittest out of the two. His self-esteem rises to the roof. _It’s close, but it’s got to be Gary for me_ , her words resonate in his head, making it impossible for him to stop smiling, _I just love the way his muscles bulge_. The man tries to focus on lifting, fighting with his own need to laugh, keeping it cool.

As more time passes, the more he has tried to convince himself that seeing Minni just as a mate will be the best thing for now, until he can choose her at a Recoupling, but all of that goes to hell whenever she decides to sporadically mess with him like she’s doing now, because that playful nature of hers is unique amongst the girls of the Villa and is too much of his liking. Having Minni flirt with him again reminds him of the butterflies he used to get the first two days in here, and he wishes the sensation wouldn’t confuse him as much as it does.

**Somewhere in the Villa – Evening.**

Minni is into a state of emotional turmoil right now, sitting alone quietly in a secluded area near the fire pit. She still can’t comprehend what happened at the challenge. It all started well, everything was fun— she even got to peck Gary’s lips twice, and also got to kiss new boy Lucas. But then everything started to go downhill after Marisol suddenly decided to play another game and kissed Rocco hard. And he kissed her back, just as passionate.

At first, Minni thought it was just Marisol trying to get some revenge and instigate drama, because she and Gary had already kissed twice, but then she realized that Rocco seemed _too_ into it. And after that, he chose to kiss her again even when the answer to the boys’ question was so evidently ‘Minni’. She doesn’t know how she managed to maintain her cool until the challenge ended, leaving it to Lottie to call them out.

In this moment, the blue-eyed girl is not jealous, just confused. After asking her so many times for reassurance, after telling her that she was the only one who he felt truly attracted to and after asking her not to graft too hard on the other boys, Minni doesn’t understand why Rocco changed his way of thinking so quickly and kissed Marisol in a way that would have made him uncomfortable if the roles were swapped, with Minni being the one kissing another Islander like that.

Despite all of this new information and signs coming her way, what has her feeling so uneasy is that her bottled up emotions are threatening to come to surface. Often, to take the attention away from her issues, she’s readily available to take the time to help other people sort out their crises, just like she did with Lottie and Priya. Doing that can make her feel like she’s really in touch with her feelings, when, in reality, mostly just helps her avoid her own. But now that the drama is focused on her, just like when Gary got taken away, she doesn’t know what to do to deal with her emotional baggage. She feels stuck, trapped, caged and that’s why she decided to take a moment for herself and _hide_.

She wishes to stay here forever so she can avoid everyone and everything until she manages to put her bad feelings under the carpet again, but the sun is setting, the temperature is getting lower and she’s just in her swimming suit. So, after taking a couple of deep breaths, she heads to the dressing room to get changed into something warmer.

**In the dressing room – Evening.**

Surrounded by Priya’s coconut scent, Hope and the older girl have been talking about what happened in the challenge. They have just come to a conclusion, both kind of shocked, when they hear platforms going up the stairs. No-one else in the Villa uses such chunky sounding shoes, so it just takes them to share a look to warn each other that is Minni the one approaching the door. As soon as the girl walks into the room, Hope runs to hug her.

“I was so worried about us all after everything that happened this afternoon,” she says.

The brunette shakes her head and politely pulls back from the hug, needing space. She doesn’t know how to express herself, but he tries her best. “It was so weird, everything that happened. Seeing those two kissing like that was just…” she trails off.

Priya, who is sitting in her makeup bag, stands up to join them. She looks concerned, not saying anything yet.

“It’s so weird to me that we can all be having fun, and not notice what’s going on right under our noses,” Hope tells Minni, her hands on both of her shoulders.

“What do you mean?” the younger girl asks, more confused than she was before.

“Well…” Hope and Priya cross looks, and then their eyes go back to Minni once more. “Priya and I were just talking…”

She stops speaking and Minni doesn’t understand a thing. She knits her eyebrows together and blinks a couple of times.

“I don’t know how you’re going to take this, but…” Priya continues. However, she gets interrupted by Lottie entering through the door like a storm.

The blonde girl’s strong presence in the room doesn’t make the atmosphere feel lighter, even with the summery smell of coconut still floating in the air. The entire situation made her need to overcompensate and pretend being Minni’s best friend kick back again, and now she feels like she has to back her no matter what, like if she hasn’t been trying to pull Gary away from her for the past two days behind the scenes. Anyway, Lottie goes straight to Minni and puts a protective hand on her back.

“I can’t believe what just happened today,” she tells the group, with an annoyed voice tone. “You think you get to know someone, and then they can do something that just flips it all on its head.”

“You mean Rocco?” Minni asks.

“Who else?” Lottie rolls her eyes. “Rocco kissing Marisol like that today was just…”

She stops talking when she meets her friend’s blue eyes. It surprises her that the young woman is not mad, not even sad or distressed. She’s just completely perplexed. Then, she realizes that, unlike herself, Minni did absolutely not see this coming.

“I think this thing with Rocco and Marisol is bigger than just today,” Hope says, voicing the rest of the girl’s thoughts.

Either way, Minni is just as puzzled and, just like Lottie, Priya notices just yet. It disconcerts her how this girl can solve large math equations without the need to write them down, but can’t connect the dots on Rocco’s behavior and figure out that she has been played. Maybe she trusts him too much to be aware of it.

“It was weird when him and Marisol kissed twice in the challenge today, right?” Priya asks the blue-eyed girl, in an attempt to give away the information gradually.

She nods, a pout forming in her lips. “It’s like it came out of nowhere.”

“That’s just what we said!” the red-haired girl exclaims. “It was like they both knew what to do without even thinking.”

“So we wanted to know,” Hope follows, taking her hands out of Minni’s shoulders and standing next to Priya. “When did those two get so close?”

“And then we both said the same thing at the same time,” Priya finishes.

“What did you say?” Lottie asks.

Hope sighs. “Well…”

Priya turs to Minni, her eyes scanning her face to figure out how she is feeling right now before wording her question. “Did you ever see Rocco trying it on with the other girls in here?” she asks

The brunette furrows her brow and slowly sits down on the nearest bean bag. “I-I… I don’t know,” she stutters, shaking her head. “Y-you girls would have told me.”

Hope crouches next to her. “If we all knew about it, sure.”

After briefly biting her lip, Priya lets out a long breath. She sits next to Minni, more to provide support than anything. “I didn’t think much about it until today, but he came to talk to me as soon as the new boys arrived. He just talked about how he wanted to recouple and stuff.”

“Recouple?” Lottie snaps at her, her green eyes piercing hers. “He told you he wanted to _recouple_ and you didn’t tell Minni?”

The other girl shrugs, trying not to escalate the situation. “It was not like he was really trying it on. More like, if things went that way and we were both single. But now I think that’s because I said I was happy with Ibrahim for now.”

“He said the same thing to me when he thought nobody was looking,” Hope admits, now standing up. “I said I wasn’t interested, but I bet he would have pushed it further if he thought there was a chance between us.”

Minni’s blue orbs get fixed on the floor, her brain absorbing the new information. If Rocco had those intentions all along, it doesn’t surprise her that his technique worked well with Marisol. After all, she thought that she was in the weakest couple of the Villa, because she said so many times that she wasn’t feeling it with Gary. She isn’t happy with him like Hope and Priya are with Noah and Ibrahim, respectively, so no wonder she didn’t decline his advances.

“We think he must have started chatting to all the girls after Lucas and Henrik came in,” Priya continues.

“I kinda saw it coming, to be honest,” Lottie comments, putting her hand on Minni’s shoulder.

“Thanks for telling me,” the brunette girl says, shrugging her hand off.

“Babes, it’s not like I was sure about it,” the Aussie responds. “The thing is, the first couple of chats I had with Rocco, I realized he wasn’t someone who liked being tied down. And then when he came to chat to me after you two had coupled up—”

“Wait, you too?” Minni opens her eyes wide, getting angry at her for her hypocrisy. “And you didn’t tell me either?”

“I guess I just didn’t think too much about it,” Lottie makes a dismissive gesture with her hand. “It was nothing really. Just him asking who I was going to couple up with. Us girls have all had out heads turned a bit, recently. So it’s not surprising we’d miss something if we were looking the other way.”

Too frustrated to keep arguing, Minni shakes her head in disbelief. She can’t wrap her head around it— Rocco playing her right under her nose, under every of the girls’ noses. It’s not heartbreak what she feels whatsoever, she didn’t like him _that_ much. Inside of her, there is just anger building up at a rapid pace, which is alarming. She doesn’t even question if all of this is her fault or not, because she is confident that she did her best to maintain a healthy relationship with him and be the best partner she could be. If he doesn’t appreciate what she gave him, if he doesn’t appreciate _her_ , it’s his loss. But that doesn’t mean she can’t feel like an absolute idiot for believing him, and that’s why she’s furious.

“I’m so sorry, Minni,” Hope tells her. “We might be wrong, though. What do you think?”

“Nah, mate. It all fucking adds up,” the girl replies, rolling her eyes. Normally, he would want to hear Rocco’s side of the story before coming to any definite conclusions, but his attitude in the challenge is what makes her believe that the girls are saying the truth.

The dark-skinned girl bites her lip. “It’s so funny how you don’t see how it all fits together until afterwards.”

“ _Funny_ ,” Minni huffs and gives her a glare, then shakes her head.

“I just don’t get why he would do this,” Priya interrupts. She stands up and slowly paces around the room. “We all came here to find love, and it seems like he’s just been playing a game.”

With her rage swallowing the best in her, Minni shuffles in the bean bag. Trying to keep bottling her emotions like she always does, she covers her face with her hands and growls quietly. She feels so stupid, so dumb. All she did was give Rocco precisely what he wanted, every single time. She said exactly what he wanted to hear and that just fueled his need to play with her even more, to make it sure it all stayed that way.

“Ugh, I can’t believe I’ve been played like this,” Minni murmurs beneath her hands.

“Maybe we should take a step back for a second. We’re giving Minni a lot to deal with all at once,” Hope says. “And none of us have talked to Marisol about this yet. If she’s gone behind everyone’s backs, that’s really snakey. But she probably doesn’t know Rocco’s been chatting to all the girls either.”

“But she’s seen me _happily_ coupled up with him,” the blue-eyed girl takes her hands out of her face. “What she did is still wrong.”

Seeing how stressed out her friend looks like, Lottie decides to crouch next to her and rub her back, in an attempt to soothe her. The thought that it could have been her the one to be played, if she had stayed in her couple with Rocco instead of moving on with Bobby, comes to her mind.

“We’ve _all_ been played by Rocco at this point, and I think we should do something about it,” she suggests.

By now, all the tension inside Minni is practically at the edge of exploding like hot lava. It doesn’t matter if what Rocco did was that big of a deal or not, but those feelings mix with all of the other bad emotions she has been burying since she got to the Villa. Being separated from Gary, the girl’s snarky comments she had to pretend didn’t hurt, the pressure of being recorded for the world to see and the anxiety of knowing there’s people watching her every move, all become one giant bubble in her chest— and Lottie’s idea of _doing something_ is what makes it pop.

“You’re right,” Minni says and stands up immediately.

“Minni?” Hope asks, confused by her sudden change of attitude.

Wide eyes watch the young woman storm towards the door, without saying a word or looking back.

“Minni, wait!” Priya calls, but it’s already too late. The blue-eyed girl has already gotten out of the dressing room, leaving a hot trail of rage in the air behind her.

**In the kitchen – Evening.**

The bottom surface of her platforms hit the decking with strength, the sound echoing across the lawn. Her mind is buzzing from outrage and her eyes are swarming with the beginning of tears, which she blinks away as she keeps walking. After having heavy emotions bottled up for almost a week, they were bound to erupt. And now Minni is like a volcano with heated rocks.

“Rocco!” she calls from the lawn, walking towards the kitchen with strong steps.

The boys are reunited in the kitchen when they hear her voice. Everyone but Rocco exchange a look, noticing Minni’s unusual pissed off tone. She is heading towards them with a steady pace, her expression being so infuriated that it freezes their blood.

“Minni, ma cherie!” Rocco, who was facing in the other direction, turns around to greet her with a smile, not having noticed that she is fuming.

“Don’t ‘ma cherie’ me, Rocco,” she responds, entering the kitchen.

Bobby opens his eyes wide, perplexed. “W-what’s going on here?” he asks her.

The girl cuts him short with a gesture. Now that all of those bad feelings have come out at once, the she has the friendliness and kindness of a possessed person in the midst of an exorcism. “Stay out of it,” she says, her voice firm. Then, she turns to Rocco, her blue eyes icy as they pierce his. “Fire pit, now.”

Without daring to say another word, he reluctantly walks behind her. The boys in the kitchen exchange looks again, mostly worried and confused ones. Bobby shrugs as a response, not knowing what just happened. Meanwhile, Gary’s crystal blue eyes follow Minni and Rocco as they go to the fire pit, not having a single idea of what could have pissed off Minni, who is always so chill and kind, that much.

The girls come out of the Villa a few seconds later, hurrying. They stop midway when they see that Minni has already pulled Rocco for a chat. Next, they all go to the kitchen to meet the rest of the Islanders, in silence.

“What happened?” Gary whispers, his eyes not leaving the brunette girl.

“We all just found out he’s been grafting all of the girls behind Minni’s back,” Lottie huffs, looking at the pair too.

Bobby gasps. “All of them?”

“Every. Single. One,” Hope responds.

Gary clenches his jaw after hearing her response, feeling a cold rush run up his back. The first thing that comes to his mind is how could he do that to _Minni_ , and now he can almost feel her anger reverberating in his chest. To his eyes, she was head over heels for Rocco, and she has been nothing but one of the kindest partners anyone could ever have. He remembers what happened this afternoon, when Bobby and he found the couple chatting in the loungers. After Rocco opened about his uni experience and his anxiety, and the three did their best to reassure him, he couldn’t avoid noticing Minni caressing his hand all the while, a simple but sweet gesture that showed how much she cared for him. Maybe seeing the best in Rocco made her not notice a few red flags that could have warned her about this.

“Did you think I would never find out?” they overhear Minni’s distressed voice from where they’re at, not too loud but enough to be heard in the kitchen. Her normal tone is higher pitched and her throat sounds strained.

“Bloody hell,” Gary murmurs, shocked by seeing her in that state.

Even though he hates it when people make scandals and scenes, in this circumstances he can’t blame her. A few years ago, when he found out he had been cheated on, the only thing he wanted to do was to explode like that, to let all of his frustration and hurt out of his chest. In that occasion he managed to control himself, but he understands that the Villa is like a pressure cooker of tension, he has felt the effects too, so if it’s difficult to handle those emotions in a normal scenario, he can’t imagine how it could be like to deal with them in here. Still, none of the Islanders expected to see her this angry, ever.

“We need to talk to Marisol before she overhears those two,” Hope insists, talking to the girls. So far, the law student is nowhere to be seen.

“Why?” Ibrahim asks, confused.

“Because she probably doesn’t know Rocco’s been chatting to all the girls. We don’t want her to find out this way. She will be upset enough just by the news,” Priya responds, a little nervous.

The topic of the conversation makes Gary turn his attention back to the group, not quite understanding why all the urge of telling Marisol is coming from. It’s true that her and Rocco kissed twice at today’s challenge, but he didn’t think much of it because it had been just a game. But so far, he hasn’t seen those two being close enough for her to feel hurt when she finds out he’s been playing the girls. If any, she’d be pissed off, but not exactly upset as Priya said.

“Mate, I don’t think she will be too bothered by it. They just kissed on a challenge,” Gary dismisses.

Hope sighs. If it was hard to break the news to Minni, now it will be harder to do it again with Gary, who is coupled up with Marisol and is still totally into her. “Hun, this isn’t just about the kisses.”

“What do you mean?” he asks.

Pursing her lips, Priya places a gentle hand on his broad, plaid covered shoulder. “Well... it feels as though the kisses were part of something bigger.”

**At the fire pit – Evening.**

“You told me to get to know other girls anyway!” Rocco rolls his eyes, annoyed.

Since they got to the fire pit, they have been arguing non-stop, with him sitting on the bench and Minni standing in front of him, defiant and with her arms crossed. Her calmed and collected personality appears to have shifted completely, her attitude practically being unrecognizable— for the first time in her stay in the Villa, she’s not backing down when replying and is speaking without giving it too much thought. Although it kind of makes her feel better to give Rocco the brunt of it full force; unedited, raw emotion, this is not who she is, all of her previously hidden feelings burying the normal Minni six feet under.

And it doesn’t help at all that he is still trying to justify what he did by blaming it on her.

“And you said you weren’t going to!” she growls. “Yesterday you said, and I quote, ‘I know it’s best to keep our options open and that you still want to get to know everyone, but you’re the only one I feel a deep connection with. I don’t want to be with _anyone else_ ’.”

The boy shakes his head and lets out a long sigh, knowing perfectly that that’s exactly what he said. “Of course you have a good memory, you’re a physics student,” he mumbles to himself.

Minni rolls her eyes. “Don’t blame it on me, really. It’s only making you look worse.”

While some of the girls are in the sun loungers talking to Marisol, the rest of the Islanders are still in the kitchen, not really knowing where else to go. All of them are sitting in silence as they listen to Minni’s outbursts and Rocco’s depreciating responses.

“I’ve been worried because you felt insecure about the new boys and all, when in reality you were cracking on behind my back and, after you were done, coming back to me to get some more reassurance, making me look like an absolute fool!”

With his hands clasped together and resting in his lap, Gary is silently sitting on a stool, his sight glued to the floor. He’s been like that since the girls broke the news to him, not being sure of how to react. At this point, he doesn’t even know what afflicts him more, knowing that Marisol has been sneaking behind his back to crack on with Rocco or having to listen to Minni’s distressed and disappointed words being barked from the fire pit.

“Honestly, I don’t care if you wanted to graft on other girls,” she says. “You could’ve just told me and we could’ve talked things through and move on. But what did you do instead? You kept it all a secret and had the guts to get jealous whenever I got mildly flirty with other boys, and on top of that, you made me comfort you countless times and tried to convince me to stick with you. It’s such a hypocritical move, innit?”

“If you don’t care then why are you mad at me?” Rocco asks, running a hand through his curly hair, pulling at the strands.

“I just explained it to you, you hippie knucklehead,” the girl growls and throws her hands in the air.

As Minni continues to scold him, the other Islanders are still quiet in the kitchen. Bobby doesn’t want to stare at the pair, trying to maintain his eyes fixed on the counter as he thinks. He wishes he could do something to help, that the argument wouldn’t have even started in the first place, that he would have noticed that Rocco was playing his friend. He listens to the words that keep rolling off Minni’s tongue and out of her mouth, almost like they aren’t even coming from her. Tension is in every line of her body, making her appear like she is almost vibrating with energy as she stands her ground. Now both of them reply after not quite listening to each other, so talking is practically useless at this point. Moreover, Rocco’s weak excuses only cause anger to simmer under the girl’s skin.

The familiar sound of a text rings in the Villa, making the Scottish’s attention turn to Noah, who is taking his phone out of his pocket.

“Um, guys,” the librarian says, hesitant. “I got a text.”

Then, Bobby directs his honey-colored eyes to Minni and Rocco, who apparently didn’t hear a thing.

“So you regret everything? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Rocco, I almost put all of my eggs in your basket thinking you were trustworthy,” she claims. “Being coupled up with you was such a waste of time.”

“Oi, you two!” Bobby yells, knowing this is the perfect opportunity to end the altercation. Luckily, both of them turn around to listen to him. “Noah got a text!”

Oddly, hearing Noah read a text announcing that the cocktails the girls won in the challenge are ready to be served at the roof terrace is what makes Minni snap out of the cycle of letting it all out in a couple of phrases, feeling better, then hearing Rocco’s response and getting all pissed off over again. She lets out a long sigh to get her mind straight and then turns around, sauntering towards the Villa.

“W-Where are you going?” the girl can hear Rocco asking as he is remains at the fire pit, confused.

She doesn’t even bother on turning around, neither stops walking. She can almost taste the bitterness in her next words.

“Why wasting my time talking to you when there’s cocktails waiting for me?”

**In the bedroom – Nighttime.**

“Move elsewhere. I’m not sleeping with you,” Minni says, standing with her arms crossed in the bedroom’s door, looking defiant even when she’s wearing her pajamas and fuzzy socks.

Her irritation comes back immediately after she sees Rocco getting ready for bed, expecting her to sleep next him like if nothing had happened. More than anything, she feels annoyed and frustrated. Although having some drinks with the girls after everything that happened today had been awkward, especially for having Marisol being in denial of how snakey Rocco was, it helped Minni to clear her mind a bit. Between smoking some cigarettes and drinking all of the strawberry mojitos that were available, she had been able to distract herself and her energies went down— until now.

“Where am I going to sleep, then?” Rocco asks her, frowning.

“Don’t know, not that there’s a couch in there,” she responds pointing at the living room. “Or outside, maybe? Go make a tent in the daybeds or something,” she huffs. “Wrap yourself in the idyllic sound of the cicadas, in the endless, ostentatious and scintillating layout of stars in the night sky, or something like that,” she mocks his poetic way of speaking, leaning on the doorframe. “You did it in Elbistan’s forests anyway, right?”

Priya, who is walking by, half-rolls her eyes when she notices that they are going to start arguing again. “Okay, okay, that’s enough,” she says, taking Minni’s hand and pulling her to exit the room. “Let’s breathe some fresh air, hun.”

Once they’re outside, the Islanders share a look, some of them making a mental note as a reminder to not get on Minni’s bad side— she could be really mean if she wants to.

“Or was it in Kalambaka?” they can hear the blue-eyed girl yelling ironically from the exterior. “Maybe in Colmar?”

Without letting go of her arm, Priya calmly guides her to the daybeds and sits down, making her do the same. They remain silent for a while, the fire inside Minni still burning. She thought it had died down thanks to the alcohol and cigarettes, but now it seems that at least the first of those elements is actually preventing her to put a filter in her words.

“I know what you’re going to say,” she sighs, avoiding Priya’s eyes. “‘Is not worth it, hun’.”

The older girl smiles at her. “Got it in one,” she says. “I’m glad you know. You shouldn’t waste your time picking fights with him.”

“I know,” Minni runs a hand through her brunette hair, still not feeling calm enough. “But it’s just— I’m so _angry_. He made me look stupid in front of everyone and—.” She stops herself and closes her eyes. Knowing it’s not the best idea, she tries to bury her emotions again and tells Priya exactly what she wants to hear. “You’re right, I shouldn’t care that much.”

Proud, the other girl takes her hand and stands up. “Shall we go back, then?”

Minni freezes for a second, definitely not feeling collected enough to go back without wanting to lash out at Rocco as soon as she sees him.

“No, I… I’ll stay here for a while, to clear my head a bit,” she tells Priya.

“Alright,” the woman responds, not thinking much about it. “I’ll convince Rocco to move to another bed in the meantime.”

“Thanks, babes.”

As a response, Priya offers her an honest smile, and Minni makes a lot of effort to return it, making it look pretty convincing.

**In the daybeds – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYr4Tf1mpA8) [♪](youtube.com/watch?v=vGJTaP6anOU)**

Nobody in the bedroom notices Gary sneaking out. His padding footsteps barely make noise as he heads outside, the chilly atmosphere of tonight taking him by surprise. He had been waiting for Minni to come back ever since Priya entered the room by herself. He laid awake for a while, wondering what was taking her so long, until he finally decided to go and check on her to see if she is doing alright. When he steps outside, he spots her sitting in the daybeds, the pale moonlight casting vague shadows on the small curves of her petite frame.

“Come here often?” he jokes in a soft voice, when he is close enough.

The girl turns her head and sees him next to the daybed, wearing his pajama pants and a plain navy-blue shirt, his glasses down the bridge of his nose. Despite his lighthearted tone, she notices that the way he is standing now is not his typical laidback stance. His shoulders look worked up, his neck tense. She doesn’t have to look at his face for long to realize that he is preoccupied.

She’s not sure of how much time she’s been here, or how much time has passed since Priya left her here. The only thing she is sure about is that she still feels overwhelmed by everything that has taken place, and not just by the Rocco situation. Before entering the Villa, she knew it was a forced environment of drama and pressure, but she never thought it would be _her_ the unlucky one to have to experience two major adversities already. If only, this makes her feel even worse, even more resentful— Minni is under the impression that she has a target on her back or something.

Additionally, not long ago, she started noticing that all the alcohol she drank during the evening was beginning to take effect, as she took a moment to sit down and really analyze her thoughts and what her body was telling her. And her entire body was, first, warning her about not doing anything stupid while drunk, and second, pleading her to go to sleep. Despite this, she still felt agitated, just like now. It’s like being on a persistent fight or flight mode.

Needless to say, after too many minutes of trying to lower the irate energy that is still beating in her chest, seeing Gary does not trigger in her a flight response, less a fight one. His presence almost seems like a relief to her lightly fuzzy mind.

After earning a sigh as a response, Gary sits down next to her. His sky-blue eyes scan the girl’s features, not knowing how to decipher the mixture of emotions he can see in her. With tension being an all-time high, he doesn’t even know how _he_ is feeling at the moment, or what his plan is to approach her and get her to open up and _talk_ , because the only thing he saw her doing this evening was vociferate.

“You want to chat a bit about it? About how you feel?” he asks, carefully.

Minni shakes her head immediately. “No. I’m worried I’ll talk nonsense,” she responds, not meeting his eyes. “I think I’m kinda drunk.”

The blond man lets out a quiet and short chuckle after hearing her last phrase, noticing that her sight is kind of out of focus and her eyelids are permanently half open already. With her eyes refocusing on his face because of his reaction, a hint of a smile plays at the girl’s lips. She’s tipsy, Gary reckons. He thinks she looks cute.

“That’s why I am here for, to make sure you don’t make a fool of yourself,” he smiles at her goofily, trying to lighten the mood. “Nothing’s getting out of here, mate. I swear on my nan’s roast.”

She giggles and shakes her head, turning her face to stare away again. Gary waits for her to say something, but she just stays quiet, the overall gloomy expression settling in again, disappointment crawling back to her eyes, who have a greyish undertone when being illuminated directly by the moonlight.

“Whatever you need, seriously. Just ask,” Gary insists in a more serious tone, trying to meet her gaze. “I’m here for you.”

His sincere words help Minni relax a little, pulling her out of her thoughts. She lets out a long breath. “I don’t know what could make me feel better, to be honest. Maybe another drink,” she tries to smile, but it doesn’t look very convincing now that her faculties are not in their prime.

Gary shakes his head. “You’re not drinking more, mate. No way,” he tells her.

Minni actually pouts at his words in an involuntary gesture, making him shake his head once more. Then, he takes his time to think while he bites the inside of his cheek.

“I know it’s not much, but I can offer you a good cuddle of mine,” he finally says.

The suggestion surprises the girl a little, more because she didn’t expect him to actually ask. Since they met, he has always been generous with his cuddles, giving them to her without thinking too much about it. Plus, the man expels so much body heat she swears it could eventually melt her skin, so he definitely can warm her up a little. Meeting his eyes, Minni nods.

Feeling happy whenever someone accepts his cuddles, Gary’s face lights up and he is soon cradling the girl’s dainty figure in both of his arms. What the two don’t realize in this moment is that just the closeness is unconsciously helping them massively to feel more at ease after today’s events. A few minutes of silence pass before Minni starts opening up.

“I’m so mad at him, Gary. He played with my emotions and with my trust and made me look like an idiot in front of everyone,” she whispers. “I didn’t like him that much, so I’m not heartbroken or anything like that, and losing him is not why I’m pissed off either. I’m angry because I wasted time with him, time that I could have spent with people who are really worth it.”

 _Time I could have spent with you_ , she wants to say, but she doesn’t because she can’t stop to analyze where his head is at, as her groggy mind can’t quite reach memories and patterns for her to figure it out. In her quest to study their situation, the sudden reminder of Marisol’s involvement in all of this makes her worry for Gary instantly.

“How are you feeling?” Minni tries to ask, not knowing how to formulate her question. She wishes her mind would feel clearer, not wanting to upset him. “I mean, after all, Marisol… she— um, she…”

The girl stops speaking and her eyes just look up at Gary’s face, waiting for a reaction. After swallowing hard, one of his hands moves up to run through his blonde hair, before scratching absentmindedly at the back of his neck. Then, he sighs.

“I don’t know what to respond, if I’m honest. You’re the first one asking.”

Without saying anything else, he turns his face to one side. At this angle and because of the shadows, Minni can’t see his face. Unsure of what to do, especially because she doesn’t trust her mildly drunk brain right now, she keeps quiet, her bombed eyes fixed on him.

Gary is aware that the girl is waiting for his answer, but he can’t help zoning out a little, as he gets invaded with those murky thoughts who tell him that this wouldn’t have happened if he was more attractive, if he was _better_. If he looked more muscular, bigger. This same sensation reminds him of something that happened to him a couple of years ago, around the time he started working at the docks and his therapy sessions became less frequent. He remembers that back then he started questioning himself this exact same way.

“Remember I told you I got burned?” he chokes out, his arms more tense around her. “Well I know this isn’t nearly the same, but it quite feels like it.”

Danielle, was her name. A blonde bird with big, dark eyes, that he met through some friends at a house party. She was quite posh, so classy that he never thought she would lay her eyes on him. But she did, and they started dating not long after. It goes without saying that Gary was over the moon. She was hot, she was funny and the sex was great. But more than anything, he relished on the thought that he had been her first choice right away, which finally broke his curse of girls just seeing him as a friend. They dated for over a year, and he was so blinded, so infatuated and in ecstasy that he missed big signals of her not being happy in the relationship. She started getting mad at Gary because he couldn’t afford surprising her with fancy dinners or plane tickets, she didn’t appreciate his domestic, everyday romantic gestures anymore, none of them being enough. Later, she started preferring hanging out with other people, one of them being a successful engineer, who worked for one of the largest construction company in Kent. He was driven, sophisticated and _confident_ , with money, lots of knowledge and a uni degree that demonstrated it. That man was, basically, a better version of Gary in Danielle’s eyes.

When he caught her hooking up with him and the truth came out, it hit him at full strength, impacting violently in the way he looked at himself and at his condition. It took him a lot of time to turn the situation around, pick up the pieces and start seeing it in another light. And it took him a lot more to convince himself that it hadn’t been his fault, that it didn't happen because he wasn’t good enough, although sometimes that self-doubt comes back to surface just like now.

He squeezes his eyes shut at the memory and old emotions emerging, his eyes glistening. He looks up so Minni doesn’t see his sorrowful expression.

“I’m sorry, Gar,” he hears her mumble, but he doesn’t know exactly what she means. Is she sorry for him feeling bad? For what happened to him? For the situation they’re in?

Only now he becomes aware again that he still has her cradled between his arms, in a longer cuddle than he first expected. His gaze goes down to meet hers, big, bright blue eyes not leaving his. Even when she has a tipsy aspect in her face, he can still see concern and _care_ — like she cares about him even when she doesn’t know his full story, even when, possibly, she doesn’t comprehend why he is hurting.

“It’s alright. I’m more worried about you,” he whispers to her, honestly.

It just takes those simple, soft spoken words to open a door inside the Minni’s mind, where she likes to store her emotions well separated from one another. But instead of rage, anger and hate coming out, it’s just discouragement and tiredness. She hangs her head, shoulders slumped, tears starting to drip down her cheeks and onto her lap unexpectedly fast. That is all she has to give at this point, and now she feels some kind of exhausted after having let it all out during the evening.

“I feel so _stupid,_ Gary. This is the first time I’ve trusted someone and they have failed me like this,” she murmurs, her voice strained. “Maybe if I wouldn’t have been so _blind_ …”

Tears snake down her cheeks and she sniffs, making the man next to her shift so he can look at her properly. This is the first time Gary sees her cry and it hurts much more than he expected it would. He feels a heavy pressure settling on his chest, oppressing his lungs. All he wants to do is to say something to make her feel better, but no words come out. He knows it’s not the best for him to invade her personal space right now, even though he’s already hugging her, but he can’t help himself and both of his hands end up flying straight to her face to cup her cheeks gently. Using his thumbs, he does his best to swipe at her tears.

He is not quick enough to keep her cheeks dry before new tears take their place, but Minni appreciates the soft contact. She likes feeling his hands on her skin, it brings her a sense of comfort. She wishes she could freeze time and stay like this for as long as she needs, until Gary’s arms are surrounding her once more, pulling her into the warmest hug she could ever ask for.

“It’s not your fault, Minerva,” he whispers into her hair. “For trusting someone, I mean. Whatever happens if they break your trust is on them.”

She doesn’t think she’s able to respond properly, the effects of all the cocktails she drank starting to hit harder in her system now that her energy is running dangerously low. Her mouth feels like if it’s made of cotton, her tongue heavy as she tries to form words, her forehead being stuck to the middle of Gary’s broad chest. Minni guesses she managed to murmur something to him, because he nods and pulls away just enough to wipe the tears from her cheeks again, a solemn smile on his lips. Next, he lies back on the headrest with her still in his arms and pulls the duvet to cover her body, tucking her in. Minni doesn’t know if she asked him to do that or not, but she is grateful for the gesture because now she feels even warmer. Her eyes start to close, tiredness and alcohol shutting her down completely in seconds.

They stay like that in silence, Gary not knowing what to say next and not knowing Minni is already asleep. He resorts to petting her hair with tender strokes, his breathing even and calm despite he is still hurting on the inside.

“Ugh, don’t tell me you made her cry, Gary.”

Lottie’s voice resonates in the daybed area, with an irritated tint to it. Before going to sleep, she had a quick word with Priya in the dressing room, and the girl told her that she had to pull Minni out of the bedroom to actually avoid another altercation between her and Rocco. Then, when she got to the bedroom, she saw that her and Gary were the only ones missing and, instantly, Lottie knew that leaving the two alone for so long would screw up her chances with him, so she went outside as soon as she could. While she was on her way there, she heard a few sniffles, so she expected to see Minni crying hard, but instead she found her sleeping soundly between Gary’s arms.

Besides being mad at him for not being able to contain the girl enough so she didn’t cry, Lottie is mad for seeing them like this, cuddling and so close to one another. It makes her feel a pit forming in her upper stomach, jealousy creeping in. She is into her own emotional distress right now too, torn between maintaining her nice façade to Minni and hating the girl’s guts for being able to have that kind of attention from Gary so easily.

“Well, I think that’s my cue to go,” Gary sighs, doing his best not to respond to her attitude. He starts standing up when he feels Minni’s weight leaning against his. He looks down and sees her peeling her tired eyes open, a little zoned out, and realizes that she must have been in a deep, drunken sleep. “Oh… were you sleeping?” he asks, bashful.

Minni doesn’t understand much what’s happening, but her mind does its best to grasp his question, so she nods.

“I’m so sorry, love. I didn’t know,” the man whispers, wrapping his arms around her again.

Now that Minni woke up so suddenly, she starts battling her insomnia, who has apparently decided it’s no time to go back to sleep yet despite her being so tired she can hardly hold her head up. The only thing Gary hears as a response are mumbled words he can’t understand, but notices she’s fighting to fall asleep again immediately. Her eyes close, but then flutter and barely open again. She pouts with frustration, her sight lost in the scrunched bedsheets at her lap. An idea comes to Gary’s mind, remembering what his nan used to do when he couldn’t fall asleep as a child.

“Here,” he puts a hand on Minni’s cheek to guide her head so it’s placed in the middle of his chest. She looks up at him, puzzled. “I have the perfect technique to put you back to sleep,” he winks, not being sure if her drunken senses are aware enough to understand all of his words.

Ignoring Lottie, who does her best not to look annoyed as Bobby insistently calls her to go back to the bedroom, her green eyes wanting to burn holes in his skin as she walks away, Gary starts humming a tune while he pets the Minni’s hair once more. Both of them are alone again, the rest of the Islanders already preparing to sleep as the lights of the Villa turn off. Under this new dim lighting, random notes reverberate in Gary’s chest, with him not voicing actual words, just letting casual hums form in his throat and not worrying to much if they make a proper melody or not, until it turns into the first song that comes to his mind.

 _Wise men say, only fools rush in_.

Even when he is not saying the lyrics, he swears he can hear the song clearly in his mind, fueled by a memory that came to surface due to today’s events. This vivid memory starts replaying in his mind, having him gradually zoning out as Elvis’ tone accommodates his deep voice straight away.

_Shall I stay? Would it be a sin?_

Despite not being quite sure what is he trying to do, Minni has a vague idea of what happened today and is sure that she is safe in Gary’s arms, and that he is doing his best to help her go back to sleep, which is the only thing she wants to do at the moment. Her thinking is so muffled by alcohol and slumber now that she can’t thank him for his efforts, but she wishes she could with all of her heart. The vibrations of his chest against her ear make her close her eyes instantly, his steady breathing and peppermint smell being a soothing addition. She can’t recall the melody resonating in his chest, but it sounds _sweet_. Soon, all of those elements combine and the girl starts slowly dozing off.

_If I can’t help..._

As romantic as this might seem, for Gary this is not love song. It’s a heartbreak song. This is the same song that started playing a few years ago at his usual Chatham pub, on a crowded Friday night. Immediately after the familiar melody started coming out of the place’s retro speakers, a smile formed in his face and he left the bar, where he was chatting with his mates, to go and find Danielle right away, wanting to wrap his arms around her and slow dance to the music.

_Take my hand._

His eyes roamed the entire pub’s dancefloor, which was the spot where he had seen her last, and didn’t find her. She was supposed to be dancing with her girls, he remembered, but none of them were there either. Frowning with confusion, he started pacing around the pub, searching for his beloved girlfriend.

_Take my whole life too._

Minutes passed and she was still nowhere to be seen, neither answering her phone, and Gary had his heart in his throat because he was starting to think there was something seriously wrong. He adored the girl so much that if something bad had happened to her, he would have never forgiven himself. He swore he had looked everywhere already, so asked a few people if they had seen her and got his mates to keep an eye on the crowd that was at the dancefloor in case she went back to it. He began blaming himself for not taking care of her enough to notice if something had gone wrong. Tired of calling her name all around the place, he quietly paced around, feeling lost. And the song kept playing— if they didn’t put it on repeat, the sensation had been caused by the minutes stretching under his distressed state of mind.

_For I can’t help…_

It was just then when the idea of searching for her on the outsides of the building came to him. Rapidly, he found the nearest exit, which lead to the back of the pub, his pulse beating too fast in his veins. He opened the door, worried, loving crystal blue eyes wide open as they scanned the area…

... _falling in love with you…_

… just to find her kissing another man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly i don't know if this chapter was waaaay too extra dramatic or not, but yeah haha♥ it is what it is. also, sorry if anyone reading this is named Danielle lol i just picked a random name. i hope you guys liked this chapter and see you next time✧･ﾟ: *


	7. Day 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The silence is comfortable, the kitchen feeling warmer than before. Minni throws quick glances at Gary, the way the pale color of his hair looks with this morning light catching her attention. She notices him putting in real effort into his task, the muscles of his body moving in tandem. His strong chest raises and falls rhythmically, at a calm pace. Abruptly, she remembers last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey babes✿ sorry if this chapter took me so long :c i'll try to have Day 8 and 9 as soon as posible♥ thanks for all the support you guys, you're amazing.

**Day 7**

**In the kitchen – Morning.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4BAGg_pZxE)**

The Villa’s outdoors kitchen is warm, golden sunlight illuminating Minni’s delicate features. She would look insanely attractive if she wasn’t cringing at the view of Bobby chopping potatoes unbelievably fast, over a cutting board placed in the middle of the counter. She knows that he is an experienced chef, but that doesn’t mean she trusts him when he has a knife in his hand.

“Oh my days, slow down. You’re gonna chop your finger off,” she gasps, eyes wide.

Bobby laughs at her and cockily flips the knife in the air. She flinches. Then, he catches it by the handle just fine and keeps cutting the potatoes in tiny squares.

This morning, Minni woke up perfectly tucked in her bed, alone and engulfed in soft bedsheets, not remembering how she got there. Her memories of last night are scattered; she recalls Priya taking her to the daybeds to prevent her from keep scolding at Rocco, then being all alone, feeling drunk and falling asleep. She remembers Gary making her company, his big arms around her, the soothing heat radiating from his body, feeling the beating of his heart beneath her ear and the vibrations of his chest while he spoke— he was sad, but she doesn’t remember why. Maybe because of Marisol.

Just when she got out of her state of confusion, she saw Bobby coming her way with a huge glass of water. He had gotten up earlier to get her some water, because he thought Minni would wake up with a bad hangover or just sad for what went down with Rocco. Much to his surprise, none of them happened. She is used to have crazy drinking nights at uni and besides, for some strange reason, she rarely gets a hangover, so she feels physically fine. And, as for her emotions, she is glad that she woke up feeling _normal_ again. Even better, she would say, because she feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders, with it being all the emotions she accumulated since she got here. Perhaps this weight was also, partly, having to deal with all of Rocco’s jealousy and distrust towards her.

After having a brief chat, Minni and Bobby decided to use yesterday’s potatoes leftovers to make hash browns for breakfast, but more elaborated and with a gourmet and innovative twist of course, because Bobby took the lead of the cooking process.

“My job is done here,” the Scottish says, neatly arranging the food over the counter. “You need help with that?”

He put Minni to dry the rest of the peeled potatoes and to chop some herbs, and she hasn’t finished any of those tasks.

“I’m good,” she answers, stubborn.

Bobby raises an eyebrow. “Fine. I’ll go take a shower in the meantime,” he smirks. “Make sure you mash half of those potatoes too.”

“Yes, chef,” the girl responds with a smug smirk.

Her blue eyes watch her friend walking towards the Villa before focusing on her task again. Despite all the tension from yesterday, she has the sensation that most of the pressure on her has been taken away. She knows she should be worried because, technically, she’s single _again_ , but there are more boys than girls in the Villa for the moment, so at least she has less chances of getting kicked out. What troubles her is that she hasn’t managed to stay coupled with someone for more than three days, and this is definitely a bad sign.

While she finishes drying the potatoes, she suddenly catches the apparition of a wide, golden-haired frame with her peripherical vision. She pretends not seeing him as she turns around to look for a smaller knife on the cabinets.

The vision of Minni under the yellow light of the morning, with her hair in two small braids and wearing a large hoodie over her pajamas, unconsciously makes Gary smile. After everything that went down, he never expected to see her looking so well and floating around the kitchen so early, but he is glad to see that she seems to be doing fine.

When she definitely fell asleep last night, Gary took his time to expel all the sadness that got accumulated in him after remembering the time he got burned. He spent several minutes awake under the moonlight, lying in the daybed just the same and sliding his fingers across Minni’s soft hair, until all of his heartache went away. Then, he carefully carried her to her bed, which was empty because Priya managed to move Rocco to the sofa, tucked her in and went to sleep on his own bed, beside Marisol.

He is still feeling uneasy and insecure, especially because Marisol pied him off for Rocco and there’s still more boys than girls in the Villa, so the first thing he did when he woke up was hitting the gym. Deep inside, he knows that he will get himself injured if he keeps going that often and increasing the intensity of his workout like he is starting to do, but he can’t stop either. Not when he is worried that losing size will get him dumped from the Island. As the tension raises, he’s starting to feel less like himself.

Luckily, in a moment of clarity, he decided to take a break and go fill his water bottle. That’s when he spotted Minni all alone, doing something with potatoes in the counter, and chose to get closer to the kitchen instead. It seems like she hasn’t seen him yet, therefore he takes this opportunity to just watch, in hopes to sneak on her and have some banter after. As she turns around and grabs some herbs, he quietly tip toes behind her back with a mischievous grin on his face.

“If you’re here to see the Leidenfrost effect, I’m sorry, mate. We put oil in the pan already,” Minni says once he’s positioned right behind her.

Gary’s face falls. Next, he lifts his eyebrows in surprise. “How did you know I was here?”

The girl chuckles quietly, without turning around to see him yet. “I just knew,” she smiles, cutting a few leaves. “Or maybe it’s because your sweat stinks.”

“W-What? I don’t stink,” he frowns.

Minni laughs at his reaction, so he definitely knows she’s bantering. Still, he quickly smells his armpit to double-check, before getting closer to her to see what she’s doing. Silently, he peeks over her shoulder and squints— he went so rapidly to the gym that he forgot his glasses on the nightstand and didn’t put on his contacts.

At the feeling that he is getting way too close, Minni turns her face around, raising an eyebrow. She has to contain a giggle when she sees his expression inches away from her, his eyes squinted and nose scrunched. _How blind is this boy?_ she asks herself, the face he is making being too adorable.

Suddenly, Gary is aware of what he’s doing and takes a step back. “Looks promising, what you’re making there,” he comments, trying to play it cool. “Can I have a little?”

She shrugs. “Sure.”

A huge smile forms in Gary’s lips and he moves so he is now leaning back on the counter, right next to her. Minni shoots him a glare.

“You really expect me to give you some of my amazing hash browns when you’re just staying there watching?” she teases. “Give me a hand, at least. Chop those herbs, yeah?”

The blond man sighs and whines quietly. “Mate, at this point I’m suspecting you’re trying to make me cook just to make fun of me.”

“Are you sure your name isn’t Sherlock?” the brunette replies, giving him a quick cheeky look.

“Very funny, you are,” he responds, the corners of his lips tugging a little as he pretends to be annoyed.

Determined, Minni puts a fistful of leaves in the cutting board and the knife on top of it. Subsequently, she slides it to a perplexed Gary.

“C’mon! I know you can do it,” the brunette insists. “You’re a handy guy, aren’t you?”

Gary smirks, a cocky expression settling all over his face. “I’m handy at other stuff, love. Maybe you’d like me to show you, sometime,” he says, leaning a little so his face is closer to hers.

After hearing his words, Minni doesn’t know how she manages not to get red as a firetruck. Her stomach flutters, leaving her flustered as she holds her gaze, blue eyes meeting. _This man_ , she thinks, mentally biting her lip.

“Now that you’re asking, I kinda need another shelf at the dressing room,” she smiles cheekily, faking that she didn’t get what he meant. She maintains her eyes fixed on his, and then quickly moves them to analyze his handsome features.

The boy lets out a chuckle at her response, liking the way she managed to get around his innuendo but acknowledged it at the same time with her body language. She’s the only girl in the Villa that always has a cheeky response to his advances, and he relishes on that. Because he can’t say no to her, he washes his hands, takes the knife and tries to do his best at chopping whatever those leaves are. He can almost hear his mates' laughs after they see this on the telly.

A few minutes of quiet pass, with both of them working on the ingredients over the counter. The silence is comfortable, the kitchen feeling warmer than before. Minni throws quick glances at Gary, the way the pale color of his hair looks with this morning light catching her attention. She notices him putting in real effort into his task, the muscles of his body moving in tandem. His strong chest raises and falls rhythmically, at a calm pace. Abruptly, she remembers last night.

“Gary, um…” she starts, and he instantly has his eyes on her. “Thank you, for making me company last night. I don’t remember much, but I know that you were there for me. So, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, Mins. I’m just glad I could help,” he smiles softly at her. Then, he makes a pause to process better what she just said. “You don’t remember much, huh?” he asks, scratching his beard.

“I mean, it’s not that I don’t remember things, but the details are gone,” she lets out a small laugh. “Don’t worry, though. I sure remember your cozy cuddle.”

An involuntary goofy smile forms in Gary’s face. “Those are hard to forget, in my opinion,” he answers, happy. “Can’t blame you for forgetting the rest. You were well tipsy.”

The girl stifles a laugh, a little embarrassed. At least she didn’t do anything too awkward last night, which is enough for her. Before Gary turns his attention away, she puts her hand on his arm, gently.

“How are you feeling?” she asks. “I mean, because of Marisol.”

Yet again, Gary spots that sincere expression on her face, the one he saw yesterday. He feels all of his barriers going down when he notices that she _truly_ cares about him, that it wasn’t just his vague perception or his incorrect interpretation of the raw emotion in her drunken state.

“Honestly… I’m not going to force things with her. It didn’t work, so that’s it,” the man confesses. “I’m moving on already, and it doesn’t make me feel as bad as I thought it would, you know. I’m proper ready to try things with someone else.”

“I’m so glad you’re fine,” Minni’s face lights up and her hand slides down his arms, going back to the counter. She stays quiet for a second, unsure of how to ask what she wants to ask him. She ends up doing it anyway, in the most subtle way she can think of. “So, do you have anyone in mind?”

“That’s for you to guess,” he simply winks.

Gary really wants to try things with Minni this time, but the competition to get her attention is fierce, even with Rocco out of the picture. Lucas and Henrik are pretty much tenacious when it comes to flirting with her, he’s seen, and it will probably get worse now that she is kind of single. In Gary’s opinion, they’re way more eye-catching than him, which brings out his insecurities once again. His plan for now is to take things easy, not rush anything with her so it doesn’t hurt much if she gets her head turned all of the sudden. Although he doesn’t exactly know where their relationship is standing, or where this is leading to, he can’t deny that it all feels lighter and easier to do now that they both can shamelessly flirt like in the first days.

Seconds of quietness pass before Minni notices how he has been chopping the herbs. They are almost disintegrated, triturated and mixed leaves splattered over the cutting board. The girl burst into laughter.

“What?” Gary pouts, looking at her. “I told you I couldn’t do this.”

Minni tries to contain her laugh as she shakes her head. “No, no. It’s perfect, mate.”

“Really?” the crane operator opens his eyes wide, hopeful. Seeing that she just smiles sheepishly as a response, he figures that she was just trying to make him feel better. “You’re a bad liar, Minerva,” he can’t help laughing too.

“I appreciate your effort, though,” she grins sweetly. She proceeds to take the knife out of his hand tenderly and hands him a bowl of potatoes and a tool he has never seen before. “Here, mash these instead.”

“Is that your way of saying I’m brute?” he teases, faking being offended.

“No,” Minni responds. “Is my way of saying that you’re strong, big guy.”

The unexpected nickname makes him blush wildly, he can’t pinpoint exactly why. Noticing that the skin in his face gets incredibly hot in a matter of seconds, he turns it to the opposite side so Minni doesn’t see him. The girl smiles, pleased with herself, but otherwise pretends not to notice Gary’s reaction, the blush extending to his neck.

As he tries to focus solely on figuring out how to use that tool Minni gave him to mash the potatoes, Gary realizes that he’s growing quite fond of this girl with the complicated surname and huge blue eyes, that he’s liking her personality, her banter and flirting more than he expected to and feels comfortable admitting for the moment. The idea gets him mildly scared for a second and he thinks about leaving the kitchen in an attempt to put some distance between them, but he doesn’t. He can’t. She pulls him like a magnet— like _gravity_ , she would say.

“Let’s get these hash browns fried!” Bobby exclaims, entering the kitchen freshly showered and dressed with a colorful patterned shirt and his swimming suit. He walks towards the counter and takes a look at the ingredients, frowning immediately after seeing the state the herbs are in. “Who cut these?” he asks, horrified.

“Don’t look at me,” Minni shrugs, fighting off a smile.

Subsequently, Bobby turns to Gary. His expression is so perturbed it almost looks like the messed-up state of the herbs hurts him physically.

Gary raises an eyebrow. “What? You know it’s not my forte.”

“I understand the sandwich thing, but… you can’t cut some _leaves_?” the Scottish asks, nearly gobsmacked.

 _Here we go_ , Minni thinks. She sees Gary standing his ground, his biceps bulging as he crosses his arms in front of his chest defensively.

“Well, can you operate a forklift?”

**In the kitchen – Morning.**

“Honestly, I never thought I’d see Minni getting angry, like, ever,” Hope comments.

“She’s so sweet and all, but I think Rocco’s behavior just… made her snap,” Priya speaks, a conflicted expression on her face.

The Islanders are gathered in the kitchen, gossiping about last night’s events now that Minni, Rocco and Marisol are nowhere to be seen. Hope and Noah are sitting in stools closely together, Lottie and Gary are standing next to the counter with Priya and Ibrahim in front of them and Bobby is arranging some utensils in the cabinets, so they’re organized just the way he likes.

Ibrahim sighs. “She’s always so chill. Like…” he starts saying, but doesn’t know how to continue the phrase with a good analogy. “Like… a mountain.”

Next to him, Lottie bursts into a mocking laughter. “A mountain, really? Is that the first that came to mind?”

“Oh, I see it,” Priya interferes, trying to make her partner feel better about his lack of skill with words. “She’s mostly calm and stable, and all of the sudden she becomes a volcano and burns everything around her.”

“So, yesterday we saw Volcano Minni,” the golfer adds, thankful for the save.

Lottie rolls her eyes but doesn’t say anything else, the kitchen becoming quiet for a while. Deep inside, she’s quite scared of Minni’s bad reactions now that she’s seen them, so she has tried to stick with her as much as she can with this whole Rocco situation. Hopefully she gets something out of staying on the girl’s good side, because surely she doesn’t want to be on the bad one.

“Her personality went full 360°,” Bobby whispers, shaking his head. “I never thought I’d see her going rampage like that, to be honest.”

“Mate, it’s 180°. If you go 360°, you end up in the same spot,” Gary sighs. It’s the first time he has spoken since the other Islanders started chattering about the topic, because he hates participating in gossip, with it being worse if it implies talking behind Minni’s back.

“What about 270°?” Ibrahim asks, clueless.

“Don’t look at me, I was never good at math,” Bobby shrugs.

“I bet Minni would know,” Noah says.

“Where is she, anyway?” Bobby asks, looking around. “I feel like I haven’t seen her in forever.”

“She’s having a chat with Rocco at the roof terrace,” Lottie responds, looking at her nails.

The boys immediately stare at her with wide eyes. Everyone noticed that the pair has been pretty much avoiding each other since yesterday, so the Aussie’s information is startling, to say the least.

“I hope it ends well,” Bobby pouts, looking up at the roof terrace.

He can’t see them from where he is, but he can faintly listen to their voices if he pays enough attention.

“So Lottie’s just your comfort blanket? And Marisol is just a sleeping bag or a hammock you’re trying out?” he hears Minni saying. She sounds pissed off, but not as much as last night. “You’re joking, right? Do you know how that sounds?”

Bobby winces and looks at his friends, who are distracted and separated in couples as they talk in the kitchen. Hope is talking to Noah, Priya is listening attentively to Ibrahim and it seems like Lottie is trying to flirt with Gary, her body language being very evident as she leans towards him as she speaks. Then, he turns his attention back to the roof terrace.

“I’m sorry, Minni,” he can hear Rocco saying. “Really, I am. I wish this could have worked. But I thought it better that you know how I felt, you know?”

Next, he listens to the girl, who lets out a long and heavy sigh. “Let’s just move past this and be cool, yeah? I’m still mad at you and there’s no way we’re cracking on again, but at least we can be mature about it.”

“I agree. Seriously, thank you for giving me a spare second to talk, Minerva,” Rocco responds. “I hope I haven’t offended you too much.”

When Bobby’s focus returns to the kitchen, he notices that Ibrahim, Priya, Hope and Noah are gone, and spots them walking amiably towards the pool area. Gary has started to boil the kettle, with Lottie perched in a stool close to him. Not much time passes until all of them can hear chunky shoes softly hitting the decking as Minni strides towards them. She looks annoyed and bummed out, her usually sparkling blue eyes a little less bright, but at least she’s calm and composed.

“I still can’t believe Marisol and Rocco. It’s like they have no respect for boundaries,” Lottie says once she sees Minni approaching them. Then, she looks at her skeptically. “I hope breaking your cold shoulder vow was worth it, hun.”

“He actually apologized. We’re cool now, but nothing’s happening between us like, ever,” the blue-eyed girl tells her, sitting on a stool right beside her. “It annoyed me so much that he repeated over and over that he’d still rather be with Marisol,” she sighs, frowning. “Obviously I’m like ‘sure, keep him, whatever’, but why rubbing it in my face like that?”

During the entire morning, Minni tried to avoid Rocco at all costs, accompanying this attitude with a very evident indifference towards him. The girl’s silent treatment isn’t something she intends to use childishly, less with manipulative or bullying intentions; it’s like an uncomfortable comfort zone for her to hold her emotions in, or what’s left of them, but also to make it clear that she’s not thrilled with someone without engaging in conflict. Because of this, she wasn’t planning on talking to Rocco anytime soon, until he approached her while she was hanging out with the girls near the pool. Her first thought was obviously to reject him, but she changed her opinion just because he had the nerve to go and ask her to have a chat even after everything they said to each other last night.

Their talk wasn’t friendly, but they managed to come to an agreement. Minni accepted his apology even though she still doesn’t think that what he did was justified, and they settled on letting this pass because, at the end of the day, they still have to live in the same Villa. Overall, the best part of it for her was that Rocco offered to keep sleeping in the sofa.

Lottie looks at her with pity. “Oh, hun. I’m so sorry. You so don’t deserve that,” she states. Next, she turns to Gary. “Gary, quick! Minni needs her tea,” she orders.

The other girl is about to say that it’s not necessary— Gary doesn’t have to be her servant just because she feels bad, but the blond man is already coming over, drinks in hand.

“A banging cup of tea for Minni,” he speaks softly, passing her a mug. The girl recognizes it’s the same mug in which he prepared her a cuppa the second day in the Villa, and smiles at him as a way to thank him. “And of course, a cup of tea for Lottie!”

Lottie takes it with both hands. “Thanks, I need this for my reading. This whole thing is exhausting.”

Minni looks down and pouts, feeling preoccupied all of the sudden. “I’m not gonna lie... I’m kinda worried,” she admits. “What if I get kicked out at the next Recoupling for being single again or something?”

Right after hearing her words and noticing that she’s actually feeling quite low after talking to Rocco, Gary sits close to her and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Mate, there’s no way you’ll be single after the next recoupling,” he declares, sincerely. He is aware that most boys fancy Minni at this point, so she’s bound to get picked by someone, even if it’s not necessarily him. Anyway, he hopes this comment hints her something about his intentions, because if she’s anyone’s first choice, it’s his.

The brunette girl turns her naive eyes to him and purses her lips. “How are you so sure?” she asks, oblivious.

“Just because,” he nudges with a playful smile, trying not to give away too much.

Sensing flirty vibes coming from Gary towards Minni, Lottie clears her throat loudly, which makes him turn to look at her. “I could find out by reading your leaves, babe,” she offers the other girl, casually moving Gary away from her and positioning herself in the middle.

“Guys, it’s all just momentary drama,” Bobby interrupts, trying to lighten the mood. “You’ll have forgotten about it next week.”

The blonde girl rolls her eyes. “You don’t know that, Bobby. We’ll just have to see what the tea leaves say.”

In that moment, Priya, Hope, Noah, Marisol and Ibrahim all walk in, laughing and chatting casually. Marisol looks around for a second and, as soon as she catches Minni’s eye, she quickly looks away. The younger girl is not interested in instigating drama or in calling her out right now, but she can’t help her poisonous gaze. Noticing Marisol’s reaction, she decides to ignore her and move closer to Bobby, who is at the opposite end of the kitchen. On the other hand, Lottie starts playing with her nails menacingly, her green stare piercing the Spanish girl. The tension in the air starts to build up at a rapid pace.

“Kind of an atmosphere in here, huh?” Marisol comments. Next, she looks at Lottie, who is still glaring at her. “I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about. He’s not even your man.”

“He was not yours either, in case you’ve forgotten,” the Aussie shoots back. “Minni is my girl, hun. I look out for my girls when there are snakes in the grass.”

Minni and Bobby share a quick look, and nobody else says anything. Marisol opens her mouth like she is about to reply with something, but it’s evident that she can’t come up with a response to that.

“I’ll go sort my hair, or something,” she responds instead, before walking away towards the Villa.

Even with Marisol out of the picture, Lottie doesn’t look like she’s going to calm down anytime soon, her eyes not leaving the girl until she disappears. After that, she turns to the rest of the Islanders, like she is about to start ranting again about the situation again. Gary, seeing how stressed out she is and only wanting the drama to stop, chooses to have a nice approach and figures out that pulling her aside and talking a bit will make her feel better.

“Do you want to talk it out somewhere private, Lottie?” he suggests.

Her eyes light up. “Sure. Let’s go. I need to do my tea-leaf reading in peace,” she answers.

They both head back outside, slipping past the others. Minni’s blue gaze follows them as they saunter in the direction of the firepit and disappear behind the benches. She’s curious, but says nothing.

**In the dressing room – Afternoon.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSpr7Tn8MDc)**

A passion fruit scented mist lingers in the air as Minni enters the dressing room. She comes here looking for some sun cream but instead the first things she sees is Bobby crowbarring himself into one of Priya’s dresses and Henrik looking at different lipsticks.

“Are you sure it won’t be too much?” Henrik asks him, opening one of them. He smells it, curious.

“No, pal, that’s definitely your color,” the Scottish replies.

 _What have I just walked in on?_ Minni thinks, holding back a laugh as her eyes scan the room. Henrik and Bobby are still rifling through the makeup. Gary is sat near a dressing table writing something, then screws the piece of paper and groans in frustration. In the corner, Ibrahim looks like he’s practicing his acceptance speech. She doesn’t see Rocco, Noah or Lucas.

“Bloody hell,” she whispers, giggling quietly.

It just takes that for the boys to notice that she’s there. Everyone turns around to look at her and greet her, while still doing their thing. She chuckles and greets back, then goes straight to one of the cupboards to get her sun cream. As she is fumbling through all of the items stored inside, she spots Gary right next to her, resting his head on the dressing table surrounded by scrunched up balls of paper.

“Writing a dirty limerick?” she sneaks on him, cheekily.

He cranes his head upwards and his face brightens when he sees her.

“Alright, trouble. What are you doing here?” he smiles.

“I heard you were in a dress,” she banters, while looking him up and down. “But you’re clearly not, so I might as well leave.”

The blond smirks. “I only wear those long sparkly ones. I’m classy,” he responds.

Before leaving, Minni casts a glance at all the paper scattered around him. This could be the perfect opportunity to have some fun, mess with him a little and have a flirty time together, she reckons, so she decides to stay.

“You struggling, huh? Guess I’ll have to just help you with this contest,” she says, batting her eyelashes.

“Really? That would be great,” the man answers.

“So, are you stuck with the speech? Let’s start with that,” the girl speaks, leaning to take a better look at what’s in the dressing table. “Oh, what does this one say?” she teases, picking up one of the paper balls Gary discarded. After that, she starts opening it, to see what’s written in it.

“No, no, no. Not that one,” Gary says, nervously taking it out of her hand.

“What about this one?” she keeps going, with intentions of picking another.

Gary grabs the ball before she can touch it and frowns. “Minni…”

“Or this one?” the girl grabs one that’s out of his reach, doing her best not to laugh at the pissed off expression in his face.

Quickly, Gary takes it out of her hand again. “Minerva, I swear…” he sighs, annoyed. “You’re such a tease, you’re not even helping.”

Just in that moment, Ibrahim passes by and eavesdrops, a Rubik’s cube in his large hand. He looks at the pair, inquisitive.

“Wait, are you helping him?” he asks Minni.

“Yeah, why?”

The golfer shifts a little in his place, timid. “I need help too, with the secret talent thing,” he says. Next, he takes a blindfold out of his pocket.

“That’s a bold move of you, mate, but I’m not sure if Minni is into that stuff,” Gary jokes.

Noticing that two of the boys are around Minni and asking her for help, Noah gets closer to the group and interrupts.

“Minni, you’ve got to help me too,” he urges. He motions around the dressing room, troubled. “How am I going to complete with this?”

“Can’t you ask Hope?” the girl asks instead, raising an eyebrow.

“No way! Come on, Minni,” the librarian whines. “I’d owe you big time, please.”

“I’m sure Hope will be happy to help you,” she shrugs. She’s starting to notice that her cheeky attempt to have a little alone time with Gary is backfiring.

“But you’re here now. Come on Minni, you’d be doing me a huge favor.”

“Stop insisting bruv, she’s helping me already. Right, Minni?” Ibrahim smiles at her, putting his large hand on her slim shoulder.

Gary steps in and gets in between the both of them. “Hold it there, lad. Last time I checked, she was helping me.”

“Minni, how do I get this ‘long-lasting, smudge-proof lipstick’ out of me once I finish my presentation?” Henrik asks, confusedly reading the label of one of the lipsticks. He’s far away and in front of a mirror, fiery red color all over his mouth.

“Does anyone know how to zip this thing?!” Bobby shouts from the other side of the dressing room, irritated and fumbling with the zipper of Priya’s dress.

“Minni, I really need your help,” Noah insists, making the girl’s attention turn back to him.

“Mate, Minni’s with me,” Gary replies, rolling his eyes.

“How about you help _me_ instead?” Lucas asks. He just finished getting dressed and is sitting comfortably in one of the bean bags with his arms behind his head, being the only calmed person amongst all the chaos.

Indeed, the physiotherapist doesn’t look like he’s struggling at all and is staring at the girl with a smug smirk. Minni realizes his intentions and gives him a flirty look, smiling back. Lucas winks. After seeing this, Gary panics slightly, an unexpected feeling of jealousy boiling rapidly in his insides. Before he can say anything, Bobby shouts angrily from across the room and everyone turns to look at him.

“I officially hate zippers!”

“I think I got glitter in my eye,” Henrik wails, walking in circles with a hand over his eye.

All of the sudden, the boys start talking at the same time, the volume of their voices increasing.

“Alright, everyone shut up, or I’ll end up giving my vote to Bobby,” Minni speaks out loud.

Impressively, the dressing room goes quiet in a second and the boys freeze in their places, all eyes on her.

“Wait, what?” Bobby asks with confusion, still holding the dress around his torso. “So you weren’t even considering voting for me?”

The girl shrugs, nonchalantly. She just used that as an excuse to shut everyone up, but, giving his reaction, she figured that she could take advantage of it and mess with him.

“Okay, what do I have to do to win your vote?” Bobby asks, crossing his arms in front of his chest to look defiant and keep the dress in place at the same time.

Minni pretends to think for a moment. “I don’t know… maybe bake something for me,” she smiles, mischievous.

“Deal,” he responds rapidly, determined.

Bobby extends a hand while keeping the dress up with the other, a confident smirk in his face. As she shakes his hand to seal the deal, Minni grins, being sure that there’s no way he’ll be able to bake something mildly decent in the few minutes they have until the talent show.

**At the lawn – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCSs8gD6ZXs)**

Bobby is still wearing his sash, and is still looking at Minni with an annoying, smug grin on his face even though the contest ended several hours ago. The girl never thought that giving him the vote she promised if he baked something would actually convince Priya to vote for him too and ultimately cause him to win the talent show, earning the Mr. Love Island title, a tiara and that pink sash. She has to admit that she underestimated his baking skills. Nonetheless, the personalized pink cupcake with fondant stars was delicious— it didn’t even taste like it had been hidden in his crotch area.

This was one of the most fun days Minni’s ever had since she arrived to the Villa. Despite not being able to get the alone time she wanted with Gary, she had a great time helping all of the boys; she pulled up Bobby’s zipper, got the glitter out of Henrik’s eye, managed to get Gary out of his writer’s block, helped Noah find his secret talent, timed Rahim’s trick with the Rubik’s cube and so on, all in a matter of minutes.

Of course, because this is Love Island, the fun was interrupted by the announcement of an incoming Dumping for tomorrow. Rocco, Ibrahim and Henrik, which were the ones who were voted by the girls as the less likely to leave the Villa with a girlfriend, are the ones at risk of getting kicked out, and their fate in here will be determined by the public. Minni obviously voted for Rocco in that one, and is sad for having good guys like Ibrahim and Henrik stuck at the same category as him.

After that stressful voting situation was over, she and Bobby decided to go and chill in the bean bags, enjoying the nice temperature of this night. The gentle breeze blows the ends of Minni’s hair, as she looks up at the sky for a moment.

“To be honest, I was getting worried that nobody thought I was boyfriend material in here,” Bobby breaks the silence, making her turn her eyes at him. “This actually has been a confident booster.”

“I’m so glad to hear that, Bobby. I’m sure you will find the right girl for you,” the girl smiles at him and gives his shoulder a friendly nudge.

The silence resumes for a moment, until he speaks again.

“How do you deal with it? I mean, do you ever get insecure about people not fancying you?” he asks, fumbling with his sash.

His question takes Minni by surprise. She blinks a couple of times, not knowing how to respond right away. She has asked that question to herself before, considering the situation she’s at in the Villa, but she always ends up trailing off and not really knowing how to feel about it. Because of this, she decides not to get too serious on Bobby and give a more lighthearted answer.

“Yeah, obviously. Sometimes I start to worry that maybe none of his guys is truly attracted to me, but then I remind myself that _technically_ everything is attracted to me,” she grins softly. “The universal law of gravity states that every mass is attracted to every other mass. So even when I step on a scale at the pool, the weight I measure is not just my weight in the Earth’s gravitational field, it is also the Earth’s weight in my gravitational field. Gravitationally, I’m pulling slightly on everything around me. Everything is gravitationally attracted to me, even though that attraction is usually too small to notice… and yeah, that somehow makes me feel better.”

The Scottish raises an eyebrow.

“So you’re saying that the fact that one of the scales in the pool is attracted to you, according to science, makes you feel better?” he says, and then chuckles. “You’re a weird one.”

“You’re saying it like if you were the most normal bloke in here. Joking way too often about toes, putting cupcakes in your crotch and making pranks isn’t a regular thing to do either,” Minni replies, sticking her tongue out to him.

He is about to fire back when he remembers something. With a conflicted expression, he shifts to his side on his bean bag to face the girl.

“Speaking of pranks, I’ve been trying to think of a new one, but I’m having a ‘prankster’s block’ at the moment,” he tells her.

“‘Prankster’s block’?” Minni asks, puzzled.

“Yeah. That means I’m stuck in the middle of planning the prank,” the man explains, like if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “At first, I thought about something to do with water balloons, but then I remembered we don’t have any.”

The girl chuckles and gives him a look. “Mate, have you noticed that the Villa is full of condoms, right?”

Not getting what she’s really saying, Bobby blushes wildly. “So what? W-What are you hinting at?” he stutters, nervous.

A short laugh escapes Minni’s lips. She rolls her eyes and gets closer to him. “Um, hello? They are made of latex just like balloons, they can stretch like balloons and they can get filled with water…”

“Just like water balloons!” he completes her sentence. “Minerva, I like your thinking,” he states, pointing at her, proud. “So, we fill a bunch of condoms with water and stash them inside someone’s closet, after emptying it of course, and then when they open it—"

He stops speaking when he hears footsteps near them. Both of the Islanders turn around to see Gary and Lottie coming their way.

Now that he is not in danger of going home, Gary feels a lot less nervous about things, although the competition is still hard. After seeing how easily Lucas got Minni’s attention in the dressing room and the other lads practically throwing themselves at her to get help for the contest, some of them just doing it as an excuse to get some alone time with her, Gary feels like he has to play his cards right. Because of that, once all of that thing about who is the most eligible went down, he decided to hang out with Lottie all evening, to get to know her more; unexpectedly she turns out to be the one he fancies the most, after Minni of course.

“What kind of trouble are you two planning?” Gary asks once they’re close enough, gesturing at Minni and Bobby with his head.

“What makes you think we’re planning something?” the brunette complains, making him chuckle as he puts his hands on both of her shoulders as a way of saying ‘hi’. Lottie glares at him, but he doesn’t notice.

“Because you both have that _look_ , the one you always have when you’re scheming something together,” the crane operator teases.

Minni raises her eyebrow and looks up at him. Still being behind her with his hands on her skin, he stares down, expecting her to spill her and Bobby’s secret. A smug smile forms in his lips, as he waits for her to give in.

“You’re right, but we won’t tell you,” she spits, looking away.

Gary’s grin widens and he lets go of her. “I knew it!”

“What did you know?” a voice asks from across the lawn.

All of them turn to where the voice came from and find Henrik and Lucas approaching them, coming from inside the Villa. When they arrive, the group starts to have a candid, friendly chat about lots of different topics. Time passes and everyone is sitting in the bean bags as they talk, except for Henrik, who, not to Minni’s surprise, prefers to sit on the grass.

“I think first dates are super important. If you don’t impress me in the first 3.9 seconds of the date, I’m out,” Lottie declares, flipping her pastel-colored hair.

“Sure, it’s all about that first impression,” Lucas agrees.

“I always make sure first dates aren’t too expensive. I don’t like to make anyone feel like they have to spend money on me,” Henrik tells them. “We don’t need to pay for good conversation. And you can’t beat a hike up a mountain.”

Minni smirks and leans towards him. “Where do I sign up?”

“I’ll show you the ropes someday,” the wilderness instructor replies, flirty. “You’d make any view a better one, Minni.”

Then, he smiles at her. Gary shifts in his place, feeling uncomfortable. This is exactly what he didn’t want to happen, the boys being all over Minni now that she broke up with Rocco. He hears Minni giggle, so he turns to face her and notices that she’s blushing. _Is he really making her blush?_ , he thinks, now more annoyed than anything. He looks away, trying to play it cool despite how uneasy he feels.

“Ehem. Yeah… sure she would,” Lottie speaks. Perceiving that the boys are trying to flirt, she tries to take part in the conversation to see if she can graft a little too. “I love a bit of an adventure...”

“My kind of adventure is trooping around the city looking for an exclusive pop-up restaurant,” Lucas says. “And, like, I’m not being funny, but…” he makes a pause to look at Minni, his dark eyes meeting hers. “Imagine sitting across the table from Minni. What could be better?”

The girl bites the inside of her lip. She can’t believe that both boys are shamelessly flirting with her in front of the group, just like the first day they came in. To say that she’s thrilled would be an understatement— she likes the flirting game, even though there’s no feelings involved. She has so much fun with it, and now realizes that she missed this for getting somewhat attached to Rocco so soon.

“Well, you know, there are lots of people in the Villa…” Lottie keeps trying to get in the conversation with no results whatsoever.

Lucas doesn’t even notice her as he keeps talking, his eyes not leaving Minni. “Good wine, good conversation, good food. And you’re all good!”

Feeling awkward by having to witness the situation, Bobby and Gary share a quick look.

“You lads are all inviting Minni on dates based on activities _you_ like to do, but what about what she likes?” the baker comments. “For example, how no-one has asked her to go to a library and solve math equations?”

“Har har,” Minni rolls her eyes at his teasing.

“Oh, you’re right, Bobby. We could always stargaze,” Henrik smiles. He points at the sky, looking up. “Is there any important constellation this season we could look for?”

Minni beams, her face lighting up in an instant.

“The constellations best seen in June are Boötes, Ursa Minor, Libra and Lupus,” she begins. “Now, the first two are located in the northern sky, and the other ones are in the south. You can actually spot Boötes very easily, in my opinion. See, we first have to spot its brightest star, called Arcturus, which is the fourth brightest star in the northern sky…”

Gary’s crystal blue eyes turn to look at her again, mesmerized as knowledge spills out of her mouth. He scans her delicate features in awe, the sight of her delighted expression, long eyelashes batting and a permanent, soft smile in her pink lips while she continues talking steal his breath away so quickly it takes him by surprise. Right now, in this very moment, he couldn’t care less whether or not this girl is interested in him, if she actually fancies him or not, if he is her first option in this bloody game or not, or if there’s nobody or a thousand boys competing with him to get her attention. Right now, the only thing in his mind are her enormous, twinkling and cheerful cobalt eyes looking up at the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there was a lot of fluff and fun in this one c: i loved writing it. anyway, you guys know what happens when things are going too well for our Islanders hehe i can't wait to post the next chapters :o thanks for reading and i hope you liked it✧･ﾟ: *


	8. Day 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the other hand, he would be over the moon if Minni wanted to pick him. He feels that they could be a good match, as he enjoys their effortless flirting and banter too much; their connection since day one is undeniable. And, beyond being his type on paper, she’s shown to be trustworthy and caring, qualities that he appreciates a lot in a partner. There are so many things he likes about her, things he has been slowly discovering as days pass and as he gets to know her more and more— needless to say, she’s one of a kind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi babes✿ i said i wouldn't make you wait for long, so here it is Day 9✧･ﾟ: * again i skipped another day and everything is explained in flashbacks at the begining. i enjoyed writing this so much and you'll see why once you've finished reading this chapter. i won't say anything else♥ i hope you enjoy and also thanks for the support you guys, it means a lot :3

**Day 9**

**At the gym – Morning.**

“Hnnnnghhh…”

Gary lets out a puff of air as he lifts the barbell. Sweat is glistening pretty much all of his body, his golden hair damp and sticking to his forehead. While his arms go up, he feels a fat drop sliding down his temple and he huffs, annoyed. Leaving the barbell on top of the bench, he sits up and wipes his brow with his towel. He knows small things like this irritate him more than necessary because he’s kind of stressed out.

Yesterday wasn’t exactly a good day for him. First, there was a challenge in which a tweet outed him for kissing a girl after the first Recoupling, without mentioning who. It could have referred to either Minni or Lottie, and as the first kept her cool, the other one stormed off, making everything too evident. Because of that, some Islanders pinned the situation just on him and everything became a mess. Meanwhile, Minni just kept throwing him unreadable looks, but otherwise said nothing.

Later, Rocco and Henrik got dumped by the public’s vote and, at night, a text came in announcing a girls pick Recoupling for today. This last thing was what kept Gary awake a little longer, whilst he reflected on who he wanted to recouple with. Despite him feeling attraction towards Lottie, at least in the physical aspect, there are still things about her personality that throw him off— he can’t see himself with her for a long period of time, less for a longer relationship because they clash in so many aspects. She’s hot and all, so he wouldn’t complain if he had to stick with her for a few days, but he’s not sure if he would want to make it to the final by her side.

On the other hand, he would be over the moon if Minni wanted to pick him. He feels that they could be a good match, as he enjoys their effortless flirting and banter too much; their connection since day one is undeniable. And, beyond being his type on paper, she’s shown to be trustworthy and caring, qualities that he appreciates a lot in a partner. There are so many things he likes about her, things he has been slowly discovering as days pass and as he gets to know her more and more— needless to say, she’s one of a kind.

He’s still doubtful on whether or not pull her for a chat to have an idea where her mind is at before the Recoupling. After what happened yesterday in the challenge, he expects Minni to be a little unsure towards him and he doesn’t want to push it as not to make her feel uncomfortable. In any way, yesterday morning she hinted that she wanted to try things with him, when she asked who was he thinking of after he said he was ready to move on from Marisol, so he is sure that not everything is lost. He knows it’s not a great plan, but expecting her to approach him first is his best bet for now. And for that he has to look his best, that’s why he’s been training so hard since he woke up.

“Alright, lad?” Gary greets Noah when he sees him entering the gym.

“Morning,” the other boy responds. “I didn’t expect to see you in here this early.”

The blond shrugs. “Gotta look sharp for the Recoupling, mate. After all, I have a Minni to impress.”

He makes the muscles of his arms bulge playfully and then shimmies his pecs. Noah stifles a laugh and shakes his head. Next, he smiles and sits in the bench next to his friend, his water bottle between his hands.

“Minni, huh? Is she who you want to get picked by?” he asks. “I thought you and Lottie were hitting it off.”

Wrinkling his nose a little, Gary sighs. Of course Noah would think that, or every other Islander for that matter. Even before the tweet came out, Priya was already teasing them both about being giggly and touchy-feely, when in reality Gary was just being his flirty and nice self as he tried to get to know the girl. That didn’t prevent him for turning letter-box red when she called them out, and then mentally thank the universe that Minni wasn’t there to hear it, as she was far away in the kitchen making waffles with Bobby.

“You know, getting to know Lottie was fun and all. She’s fit and bants, but... Minni’s something else,” the crane operator confesses. “I feel an actual connection with her, mate. I think we could make a good match.”

Noah nods. “I figured. It looks like you two get along really well,” he says and pats his back. “I’m happy for you, she’s a right sort.”

“She is.”

With a small smile on his face caused solely by the thought of being coupled up with Minni again, the blond leans back onto the pressing bench and puts his strong arms behind his head. He looks at the sky and, after a brief pause, sighs.

“I’d be chuffed if she picks me today,” he tells his friend, sincerely.

“I’m sure she will,” Noah answers, convinced. “She’s close to all the lads, but it seems that you’re the only one who she sees as more than a friend.”

After hearing that, Gary chuckles of happiness. He needed this type of reassurance and it feels nice to know that it’s not just him who notices that Minni fancies him.

“I hope you’re right,” he responds. Still smiling, he stands up and grabs the sides of the barbell with strong hands, ready to add some more weight to them. “Right, enough of this Recoupling chat. You ready to lift some weights?”

**In the kitchen - Morning.**

As she fans her face with her own hand, Minni saunters graciously into the kitchen. Her classic huge platforms and one of her favorite bikinis surely don’t match the sensation of being extra sweaty that she has now. And the constant Spanish summer heat is not helping either.

She went to the gym in hopes to have a chat with Gary, to clear the air considering what happened yesterday in the challenge, but instead the lads asked her to work out with them and she couldn’t say no, because she loves to hang out and mess around with them. In honest words, the workout wasn’t too useful for her just because she’s the less athletic person in the Villa and kept getting tired after moving, like, one limb. Although it was kind of embarrassing having the boys slow down so she could catch up, she had a great time and even had the chance to get bench-pressed by Gary. She plans on talking to him later, when she catches him alone.

Having a good laugh this morning makes a huge contrast of what yesterday was for her— it was a terrible, horrible day. To begin with, she woke up to find Rocco and Marisol all over each other in the daybeds, asking her to join them for some weird reason. She wasn’t jealous or anything like that, but the situation lowered her mood a lot because it made her feel incredibly uncomfortable, especially by the fact that the guy who technically cheated was in kind of a solid relationship while she, the loyal one, had nothing. She looked so gloomy that Gary attempted to do impressions and clown Rocco and Marisol to cheer her up and, when it didn’t work, Bobby came straight from the kitchen, practically yanked her from her bean bag and dragged her so they would make waffles together. That worked, and she was fine until the challenge went downhill.

Even though she was frosty with Rocco, they guessed practically all of the answers and everything was relatively normal until a tweet aimed at her came in and shattered her confidence in a matter of seconds. Minni has a good memory, so the words practically got engraved in her head: ‘pretty much everyone has traded on Minni's toes at this point. It’s so sad it’s almost funny #doormat’. And the fact that everyone kept giving her pity looks after that didn’t help the situation at all.

She would’ve shrugged it off by having a good distraction, but then, just when there was one tweet left, Lottie decided to make a scene and stormed off before all of them could read it. Later, they found out that it said something regarding Gary kissing a girl after the first Recoupling. Minni’s first guess was that it referred to their kiss at the gym, but the fact that Lottie ran away still confuses her a lot. After bottling her emotions once more and playing it cool, Minni decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and talk things when everything was calmer.

When the challenge finished, she was itching to have the chance to run away just like Lottie did and hide somewhere so she could sort all of her bad feelings, but it turned out that her decision of calling Bobby a player just to mess with him actually gave her and Rocco the point to take the lead over Lucas and Henrik, who were the winning couple in that moment, ultimately making them win the challenge. The price was a _romantic_ date in the jacuzzi, which had been incredibly awkward as Minni kept refilling her flute with more and more champagne in complete silence.

The icing on the cake was that Henrik, the boy who was her solid second choice, got dumped from the Villa by the public vote. Following that, Minni couldn’t have felt worse; her mood was so beaten up that she couldn’t bring herself to, on top of that, ask Lottie and Gary about the tweet situation. So instead, after the Priya read out loud a Recoupling announcement text, she went straight to bed. Of course she couldn’t manage to fall asleep— her insomnia always gets worse and worse whenever bad things happen. And yesterday she felt like she was the unluckiest person in the Solar System. Maybe even in the Milky Way.

Even after feeling down in the dumps for the entire day, Minni, being the ball of positivity she is, or tries to be, woke up with renewed energies and willing to give this Love Island thing another shot. After all, she came here with the main purpose of having fun, and that’s what she’s going to do.

The smell of baking hits her the moment she steps into the kitchen. A mass of mixing bowls, egg-covered utensils, and a fine coating of flour lie sprawled along the counters. Lottie sits on a nearby stool while Bobby checks the oven.

“Hey, Nini,” Lottie greets her with a strained smile.

Bobby spins around from the oven. “It’s you! You’re just in time to try my latest cupcake sensation,” he announces. “The Magical Island Rainbow Shine! What do you think?”

“It sounds like something straight out of My Little Pony,” Minni giggles, leaning against the counter. “I love it!”

“Great! I knew you were a woman of taste,” the Scottish winks.

Smiling sweetly, Lottie turns to Bobby. “I think the name is perfect, Bobby.”

Bobby beams at her words. “What can I say? It was inspired by you, after all.”

After hearing that, Minni raises an eyebrow in confusion, but says nothing. She doesn’t see any resemblance between cupcakes with the word ‘rainbow’ in their name and Lottie. The blonde playfully nudges Bobby on the arm before looking down at the counter, letting her head rest in her palm. Bobby’s smile fades and he takes Minni aside without the other girl noticing, speaking in a low whisper.

“Lottie’s feeling down about something. I’m making these cupcakes to try and cheer her up a bit,” he says. “I don’t know how much good they’ll do, though…” Before Minni can say anything, something beeps loudly, making Bobby turn his head to the oven. “The cakes!” he exclaims. “I need to take them out, excuse me.”

As soon as Minni turns to see how Lottie is doing, she notices that she’s already staring at her, her green eyes fixed on hers.

“Hey… can we talk?” the Aussie asks.

“Sure. What’s wrong?” Minni takes off her sunglasses and places them on top of her head. Then, she takes a seat next to her friend and puts her hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner.

At this point, Lottie has started to despise her constant kindness, just because it makes it hard for her to genuinely hate her, or even be harsh to her like she is with the rest of the girls. As she thought when she first met Minni, she has always had a soft spot for girls like this, but now she’s determined and confident enough to not let that get in the middle of her and the man she wants. Not anymore, not like during the first days when she started realizing that she liked Gary. After thinking it through, she came up with what seems to be the perfect strategy to make sure she reaches her goal; after being her friend for this past week, she knows how Minni thinks and how she behaves, and this morning she decided use it to her advantage, even though she knows she will feel incredibly ashamed of it later.

“Look, you’ve been there for me before, Nini. Now I could really use a friend,” she begins. Next, she takes a deep breath, holds it for a second, and then breathes out, preparing herself to drop the bomb. “I fancy Gary.”

The brunette’s first reaction is to let out a short laugh, thinking that she’s joking. She shuts it immediately when she notices that Lottie is being serious, and ends up opening her already big blue eyes in surprise.

“Huh?” she asks, perplexed. “Lotts, no offence, but… got to be a joke?”

Lottie rolls her eyes and crosses her arms in front of her chest. She throws a quick glance at Bobby to make sure he’s not listening to their conversation before answering.

“No, I’m not sitting here bantering you. I’m one-hundy-pee serious,” she says. “But I know why you’d think that. After the things I’ve said about him, and to him. And then there’s Girl Code. I want Gary, but I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.”

“And with ‘anyone’s’, you mean me?” Minni asks.

The blonde simply nods.

The Cantabrigian sighs and adjusts her sunglasses in between her chocolate brown hair, her eyes scanning the kitchen for a moment and not exactly knowing what to say. “Is there no one else you like?”

“Like who? I’m not drawn to anyone else like I am with Gary. None of the other boys are really doing it for me, to be honest,” the other girl whines. She makes a pause as she expects Minni to react, but she’s just calmly listening to what she has to say, so she feels poised enough to keep going. “I’ve already made up my mind, I guess. I want to pick Gary this evening. Can I make sure that you won’t?”

 _Woah,_ Minni thinks, _talk about being direct._ Although the physics student has her doubts with Gary after the tweet in the challenge was revealed, she still wants to see where things could go with him, especially because she hasn’t had the chance to get his side of the story yet. Since they first coupled up, she’s felt pulled towards him over and over again, even when she didn’t want to. She fancies him like she hasn’t fancied anyone for the longest time and things have always flowed so easily between the two that she knows there is something between them, something she wants to explore.

“You know I like him, Lottie,” she sighs, her sincere eyes staring at her friend’s.

“But so do I,” the blonde complaints. “You know him enough already. Give me a chance to be with him.”

The blue-eyed girl shakes her head. “Sorry, babe, but I want to try it with him too. I think we could have something.”

Lottie bites the inside of her cheek, getting ready to put her plan into works. Deep inside, she hates having to do this, but she has convinced herself that she has no other choice.

“Dammit. I can’t stop you from picking him. I’m not an idiot. I know he’s fair game,” she pouts, looking directly at the girl. Then, her eyes get glued to the floor. “But I thought you were loyal, babe.”

“What do you mean by that?” Minni asks, knitting her eyebrows together.

“ _Girl Code_ , Nini, that’s what I mean,” Lottie sighs, like it was obvious. “Look, I’ve been nothing but supportive of you since, like, ever. I made you company when Priya recoupled with Gary, I supported you through the whole Rocco situation and I have always had your back. You’re my _best friend_ in here, the least you can do is give me the opportunity to be happy with the guy I want.”

After having pulled out the _best friend_ and _Girl Code_ cards already, she is now fully manipulating Minni, by using the forced friendship she almost single-handedly crafted between them in the past week. She knows that, despite being extremely smart, it’s hard for Minni to spot when someone is playing her because she tends to see the best in people, like what happened with Rocco. Lottie surely feels like a schemer now, but she has come to the conclusion that if this is the thing she has to do to get the man she wants, she’s doing it without hesitation.

“I didn’t know you were going to ask for something in return for doing those things,” Minni shakes her head in disappointment.

“Is not what I’m doing. It’s just me telling you that you’re my _friend_ , and I’m asking this as a friend,” Lottie insists. “Come on, Minni. Let _us_ be happy once for all.”

The wording of her last phrase throws Minni off immediately. As far as she knows, there is no _us_ between Gary and Lottie. She purses her lips as her mind starts going a thousand miles per hour. First, she recalls seeing the pair hanging out practically all the time this past few days, always spotting them together. Soon, she starts overthinking and her confused and already stressed-out mind rapidly connects the wrong dots, which makes her think something that is far from the truth: maybe Gary and Lottie have had something romantic going on this whole time and she didn’t notice.

The more and more Minni thinks about it, the more she convinces herself that Gary has never been into her, that all of his flirting and caring gestures were out of pure friendship. Bloody hell, he even calls her _mate_ , after all— multiple times during their conversations. Perhaps all of those acts of kindness were out of pity because of what happened with Rocco. Maybe Gary was just being a good mate. And, possibly, that same pity prevented him for approaching her himself to pie her off, leaving it to Lottie.

Gary is, indeed, a flirty and nice guy, so it would make sense for her to interpret said cheekiness and banter as something else, when in reality wasn’t more than friendship. On top of it, it’s understandable that with everything happening to her, she wouldn’t notice that he was into another girl all along— but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t feel utterly embarrassed now for thinking that they had something special.

All that has happened to Minni the past few days, especially yesterday, has mostly severed her confidence and unconsciously made her feel insecure about the boys’ intentions and about her place in the Villa, so she feels less capable of standing up for herself like she did the first days in here. She doesn’t have the energy of motivation to refute whatever Lottie could say, less to reassure herself and think ‘ _no, Gary is into me, I’m sure about it_ ’.

The blue-eyed girl sighs and hangs her head down.

“Fine. I won’t pick him.”

Lottie opens her eyes wide and her jaw drops. “What? Really?” she grins. She can barely hide the excitement. “That means so much to me, Nini! You’re a _true friend_. I’m so blessed to have found you in here.”

At such kind words, Minni would often reciprocate, but not now. There are so many murky emotions swirling in her head threatening to come out. She just clenches her jaw and keeps quiet. In that moment, Bobby makes his way back to the two of them carrying a tray of immaculate-looking cupcakes.

“Behold! A batch of ‘egg-squisite’ cupcakes,” he says, exaggeratedly. “I iced little dolphins onto them. I know they’re your favorite, Lottie.”

The pastry chef sets the tray down in front of the blonde girl. She beams back at him, her mood going up as fast as a rocket. This day couldn’t go better for her.

“Bobby! How did you remember that? You’re so sweet,” she exclaims, a Cheshire grin forming in her dark lips.

“No worries. I’ll bill you later. I should warn you— my fees are ‘egg-stortionate’!”

Lottie rolls her eyes playfully. “You already made an egg pun. Do better, Bobby.”

“Oh, I have no fear, I ‘flan’ to,” he jokes.

Knowing that those are the type of jokes Minni would laugh at, he turns his honey colored eyes to her expecting a cheerful reaction. Since she last spoke, the brunette has maintained a stable poker face, trying not to give away how miserable she feels, and she’s scared that attempting to fake laugh at his pun will bring down her façade, so she keeps quiet.

“Get it? Flan… like ‘plan’?” Bobby smiles at the girl, waiting for an answer. She manages to shrug in silence. “I’ll keep working on them.”

Just because she feels in power now, Lottie smiles wickedly at Minni and slides the tray towards her. “Want one, Nini?”

Minni has to force her throat to speak, resisting the urge to get out of there immediately. “Nah, I’m good,” she responds. Then, she stands up and walks towards the Villa, calmly.

**In the bathroom - Evening.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTuYunp4a3Y)**

As soon as she shuts the bathroom’s door behind her, Minni has a full-on breakdown in complete silence. She lets herself fall in a corner, rapidly hugs her legs and brings them closer to her chest. Burying her face between her knees, she lets her tears fall, choking on small whimpers and sniffing quietly.

She doesn’t know where she got the strength to keep her head up during the day, but she managed to look normal in front of all the Islanders. As she predicted, Gary didn’t approach her this morning, not even once, with this confirming her thoughts on him not knowing how to pie her off, that obviously making her discard the idea of pulling him aside to have a private chat.

With just hours until the Recoupling, Minni doesn’t know what to do. She’s been settled on picking Gary for what seems like forever, and after Henrik got dumped her options are reduced to practically zero. She even hoped that this afternoon’s dates would help her decide on someone else somehow, but she got to pick almost in last place, having to choose between Noah, Ibrahim and Lucas. Even though she had a nice date with Lucas, with it being nothing out of the ordinary, she’s certain that there’s no romantic chemistry there. Besides, she doesn’t know him that much yet, and won’t risk having another Rocco situation coming her way, less when she feels this vulnerable. By this point, the only boy who seems to have been completely sincere with her has been Bobby, but he is still her mate.

After the date, Minni was fine, as it served as a distraction and kept her from moping about the idea that Gary never fancied as much as she thought he had. But then seeing him and Lottie walk together into the kitchen after being on a date together, being all giggly and happy, was all it took to made her snap. She felt like the string that was holding her together was swiftly cut in an instant, so she excused herself and went straight to the bathroom. She’s thankful that nobody noticed her coming this way.

While she sobs, she knows she’s not feeling like this just because of losing Gary. It’s true that she likes him, but not this much. She’s crying out of embarrassment for, again, not noticing things sooner. She beats herself up even further inside because she knows that she continues bottling toxic sentiments up and that she needed to speak her mind to Lottie, but failed miserably to do so. Now not only is she mad at the world in general, but she’s shaming and being hard on herself.

Even when she knows she shouldn’t keep doing this, that she shouldn’t just try to shrug things off when she feels this low, she cranes her head upwards and dries her tears with the back of her hand. A common way to validate her holding things in is by telling herself that they will slowly expire or that she can keep bottling them up until the cause of them passes, so that’s what she does now. She’s probably wrong, but it’s always a great excuse in the meantime.

Minni stands up and checks herself in the mirror to make sure everything in her appearance looks in place, that she looks fine and collected, before heading to the dressing room to change her clothes and get ready. She still doesn’t know what is she going to do at the Recoupling, but one thing is certain: she’s not choosing Gary tonight.

**At the fire pit - Evening.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls8-NwffvgE)**

The hum of the cicadas resonates across the Villa, a gentle breeze making the fire in the fire pit move slightly from side to side. The fairy lights twinkle around them, resembling small stars, while the girls take their seats around the fire pit as the boys arrive. They jostle each other playfully when they are getting into a line. In that moment, Gary spots Minni and flashes her a smile, but she apparently doesn’t see him, her eyes fixed on her dress as she smooths the immaculate white skirt.

After the dates, he looked everywhere for her, wanting to talk before the Recoupling. He even asked Lottie if she had seen where she went, and she just said that she had no idea. Either way, he still has the feeling that she is going to pick him tonight, so he just focuses his warm crystal blue eyes on her in hopes to catch her sight, whereas he admires her because she looks simply stunning.

Once all of the boys are in front of the girls, Minni avoids looking at Gary at all costs, her heart racing from nervousness. She knows that if she stares at him for more than two seconds, she’ll feel the urge to pick him anyway, even though she suspects he wouldn’t be happy with that. She feels so selfish and embarrassed for wanting him when he hasn’t even shown interest in approaching her today.

A beeping phone cuts through the chit chat and the Islanders fall silent.

“It’s me. I’m first to choose,” Hope announces, flashing a grin. She stands up and turns to face the boys, her eyes firmly on Noah. The two can’t stop smiling at each other. “I’ve been lucky to be coupled up with my dream man since arriving at the Villa.”

The boys nudge Noah and he laughs, but his eyes stay locked on Hope. Gary pats his friend’s back strongly, feeling happy for him. His eyes go once again to Minni, who’s sight is roaming aimlessly across the boys.

“He’s everything I’ve been looking for in a man. Kind, thoughtful and treats me like a queen. I couldn’t imagine my life in the Villa without him,” the dark-skinned girl continues. “So the boy I’d like to couple up with is… Noah.”

“I did not see that coming,” Bobby jokes.

Without acknowledging him, Noah walks up to Hope and sweeps her up in his arms to cheers from the boys. Minni claps, almost feeling like everything she’s doing is thanks to inertia.

“You’re my queen,” Noah tells Hope with a smirk.

The hubbub dies down and the Islanders wait to see who will be up next. Soon, there’s another beep.

A sense of dread washes down Minni as she feels her phone vibrate in the pocket of her pearl-white dress. Her head spins for a split second, a ton of alarms igniting her mind and telling her not to listen to what Lottie said and pick Gary, nevertheless. She feels like an absolute idiot for forcing herself to not pick the boy she actually likes, but she can’t bring herself to do it, thinking that she will be imposing him to be in a couple with her when he fancies someone else. Collecting all the will she has left, she stands up.

Now, by seeing her full figure in front of him, Gary can’t help himself and simply mouths ‘wow’. Then, the girl looks at the boys, however her eyes don’t stare at anybody in particular. She exhales in an attempt to cheer herself up before speaking.

“I’m choosing this boy because he’s been a great friend since day one,” she begins, with a smile and doing her best to look convincing.

Behind Minni, Lottie instantly frowns, staring at the brunette girl and about to jump and strangle her if she dares to pick Gary after telling her she wouldn’t do it. The other girl continues without noticing, too submerged in her own turmoil.

“He’s always had my back, through thick and thin, and has been very sweet to me, especially the last couple of days,” she continues.

From the line of boys, Gary rests his sight on her, hopeful. He reckons he’s had her back whenever he could, even more after Rocco played her. A small smile tugs the corners of his lips as he tries to play it cool, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Besides, his playful nature always cheers me up,” Minni adds, feeling her body tensing already despite looking relaxed on the outside.

Lottie’s face turns more and more menacing when hearing every single one of her words and she starts gripping the edges of the bench. Meanwhile, Gary puts his head slightly down, trying to hide an inevitable soft smile forming on his face, now being sure that he is the one Minni’s talking about.

The Cantabrigian tucks a few strands of hair behind her ear as she keeps taking. “And, as I said, we’ve known each other pretty well since day one, so I know I won’t be disappointed.”

After that, Gary’s blue eyes go back her. Even though she still hasn’t looked directly at him, he is almost ready to walk to her. He doesn’t like making scenes and is not keen on physical displays of affection, but now he feels the urge to kiss her once she says his name.

“So, without further ado,” Minni finally says, batting her eyelashes. “The boy I want to couple up with is...”

She feels a cold rush going down her spine. Gary’s name pops in her head one last time before she dismisses it, demanding herself not to think of him. Biting the inside of her lip, she extends her hand towards Bobby and wiggles her fingers at him, playfully and with a smile on her face.

“Bobby.”

All of the sudden, Gary’s softened and smiley expression falls down, almost all of the color draining out of his skin. He stares blankly at Minni, without moving and asking himself why he heard another name instead of his. Disappointment can be seen in every inch of his face.

Behind the girl, Lottie lets out a bunch of air, relieved. Then, a grin spreads across her face and she starts clapping at the pair. While absentmindedly joining the rest of the Islanders’ claps and cheers, Noah shoots a look at Ibrahim, confused, and he responds by shrugging slightly, just as taken aback as his mate is. From their time at the gym this morning, both were aware that Gary was the one who wanted to recouple with Minni. Priya sulks in her seat, being the only who noticed Gary’s muddled reaction.

As for Bobby, he beams and takes a few steps forward, reaching out to Minni’s hand. He surely didn’t expect this, and accepts gladly being coupled up with her without giving it too much of a thought for now.

“Look at you!” he exclaims, pulling her into a bear hug and lifting her helplessly from the floor; he notices that she smells strongly like cigarettes. With his gesture, he manages to draw a genuine giggle out of her, making her feel less exposed by being between his arms. “You could’ve told me earlier,” he continues, ruffling her hair. “I didn’t realize all those pretty words were for me.”

“They were full of hints, you dingus,” Marisol comments with a smug smirk.

Still standing in line alongside the other boys, Gary clenches his jaw. He feels like such a fool for imagining that Minni was talking about him in her speech. He thinks that he should’ve spoken to her before the dates so he could have prevented this, because he is still perplexed— he doesn’t know what to think of this. Yesterday morning, or even this morning, him and Minni were their usual cheeky selves, hinting that they wanted to try things with each other and flirting whenever they could. More than being disappointed, now he just feels confused.

Bobby puts Minni down with a smile. “Needless to say, I’m chuffed to bits.”

Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he guides her so both of them walk back to the bench and sit together. The blue-eyed girl can’t bring herself to look at Gary yet, she hasn’t done it since she arrived to the fire pit and won’t do it now either. Instead, she glues her eyes to the floor below her, trying not to think of anything.

The sound of another text interrupts the moment. Gary’s confused expression vanishes, as he buries it deep inside somehow, and his sight goes back to the remaining girls. Lottie stands up next, confidently. She inhales a breath and takes her time to straighten her black dress before positioning herself in front of Gary.

The crane operator’s lips curl into a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. At least he is going to get picked by his second choice, he thinks, trying to shake off the feeling that all of this feels _wrong_.

“As the girls all know, Girl Code means everything to me,” Lottie begins. “Which is why this decision has been so tough,” she continues. “But I have to follow my heart. And the tea leaves. And they both point at the same direction.”

In that moment, Bobby notices Minni’s hand griping his tightly and starts suspecting that something else is going on, something he’s not aware of.

“Which is why the boy I want to couple up with is... Gary,” Lottie finishes.

Gary’s grin widens, while he runs towards her and gives her a cuddle. “You know tea leaves are never wrong, Lozza,” he says with a small laugh, his voice coming out a little strained.

The blonde rolls her eyes playfully, feeling happier than ever despite having a small sensation of guilt. The Islanders cheer, and Minni just claps respectfully. Noah and Ibrahim clap politely too, with uncomfortable expressions on their faces.

As the couple sits down together, Gary glances quickly at Minni one more time. Her deep ocean eyes are staring blankly at the decking and she is now holding Bobby’s hand, her knuckles white from squeezing him so much.

**In the roof terrace - Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjUdwnPaL2Y)**

The smell of cigarettes hits Bobby as soon as he enters the roof terrace. Under the pale moonlight, he sees Minni’s small frame curled up, sitting in the corner of the bench. The girl turns around and offers him a smile, a lighted cigarette in one of her hands and her pink glittery lighter clutched in the other. Although her smile seems genuine, he can’t ignore the feeling that there’s something wrong.

Pulling his loud and ever-joking attitude to one side, Bobby acquires a serious expression and sits beside her. He scans her face as he tries to read her, but he can’t come up with anything concrete. He just _feels_ it in his guts.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, softly.

When Minni’s blue eyes instantly avoids his, he knows she’s not telling him something important. Her avoiding eye contact straight away is basically a confirmation for him.

“You don’t actually fancy me, do you?” Bobby asks, timid.

Sincerely, he’s not asking it because he hopes she will say that she likes him. It’s the opposite. At first, he was happy to be coupled up with her, but then he realized all the things that involved being _coupled_ with someone. After thinking of why Minni chose him, he started of getting worried that his kind acts of friendliness as he tried to cheer her up and have her back were mistaken by flirting. He doesn’t want that, because if there’s someone who he sees as a friend in here is Minni— this girl is practically the quirky best friend he always hoped to find.

The brunette sighs, smoke coming out of her lips, and finally shakes her head. “There was nobody else who I could have picked, honestly,” she adds, her throat tight.

Bobby is perplexed. He raises his eyebrows. “B-but what about Gary? You two have fancied the pants off each other since you met.”

Right away, he sees sadness growing in Minni’s eyes. She pouts.

“I think he has something going on with Lottie. Something kind of solid by now,” she explains, her voice quiet. “While you were making cupcakes, she insisted me not to pick him. All she said really got to me.” The girl takes a puff of her cigarette and exhales. “I don’t know why I have the feeling that Gary didn’t want to pie me off, so Lottie kinda offered him to pull me for a chat and do it herself. She didn’t exactly say that, she just insisted that I should give her a chance to choose him. So I promised her I wouldn’t pick him… and here we are.”

After her explanation, the Scottish now gets why she was so anxious during the rest of the Recoupling. She squeezed his hand pretty tight all the while, but at the moment he thought it was just because those ceremonies put everyone in their nerves, even when nobody is getting dumped.

“You didn’t ask him about it?” he says.

Minni shakes her head again. “No, I haven’t… and I don’t think I will, because I don’t want to cause drama. I don’t want to be annoying and try to get in the middle of a relationship like that,” she responds. “If he didn’t tell me, it was for a good reason. I just— I think he didn’t know how to pie me off without making me feel bad.”

That enormous feeling of embarrassment she felt when she had to run and hide in the bathroom comes again and she can’t help closing her eyes tight. She never expected her time in the Villa to be so tense and messy. She just came here to have a good time and ended up tangled and in the middle of Gary and Lottie, and dragging Bobby into another friend couple. In honest words, she doesn’t know what else to do.

“Oh, shortcake,” her friend sighs, putting his hand on her arm in an attempt to comfort her. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

She just puts her head down without saying anything else. There’s silence for a few minutes, with Bobby not knowing how to make her feel better about it. He knew that Lottie and Gary were kind of cracking on, but he never expected him to fancy her more than Minni. They looked like a good match, like they could become a strong couple if they had the opportunity to officially couple up. He guesses he was wrong all along.

“How do you feel about it? Are you having a hard time letting go?” he speaks cautiously, breaking the silence.

“You have no idea,” Minni confesses, her eyes glistening with tears. “But I’m sure that... with enough time I can get over it. I’ve gotten over guys before just by waiting. I guess it works for me.”

Seeing her declaration as a small ray of hope to salvage the situation, Bobby beams.

“Great,” he smiles, trying to lighten the mood. “Then I won’t mention it, to help you get your mind out of it. My lips are ssssssealed,” he jokes and mimics zipping his lips.

With that, he manages to make her smile and most of her tears go away. But soon, her cheered up expression fades, being replaced by guilt. She takes a long drag of her cigarette before talking.

“I’m sorry, Bobby. I didn’t mean to lock you in a friend-couple again,” Minni sighs. “It’s just… you were the only one that I know won’t ever fail me.”

Moved by her words, he wraps her in a tight and warm hug. “Minerva, don’t even worry about that,” he says, pulling back. “Honestly, I was going to be in a friend-couple with any other girl in here anyway, because I can’t see any of you as more than friends.”

That, out of all things, makes Minni feel better. At least she didn’t ruin Bobby’s chances of finding love in her desperate attempt to choose someone who wasn’t Gary at the Recoupling. Relieved, she hugs him again and they stay still for a while. It’s the first time Bobby notices that Minni, even when she’s engulfed by smoke, has a sweet raspberry scent in her brown hair. It reminds him of his favorite recipe of puff pastry tarts. When he pulls back, she can see him smiling at her, his honey eyes twinkling, being the exact same color as the fairy lights around the roof terrace.

“Look, we can stay together until the right one comes through those fancy Villa doors,” he nudges her. “You’re Minni, after all. You’re a flirting expert, I’m sure you’ll get every new bloke that walks in here at your feet.”

The girl chuckles at his earnest compliment. “And you’re, um... you’re Bobby. I guess I’ll have to help you get your graft on,” she teases.

“Oi!” the man exclaims, playfully pushing her away. He is glad to see her good enough to banter again.

Both of them laugh. Now the air feels lighter, the smoke of Minni’s cigarette twirling in the air and fading as it ascends. The night is warm and the cicadas keep chanting, just like they were during the Recoupling.

“We’ll have the best time of our lives until then, guaranteed,” Bobby continues. “We’ll win all the challenges and give those couples a good run for their money. No dramas, no self-pity. Just bantering and joking all day long.”

“Sounds great,” Minni smiles, drying a couple of remaining tears with her sleeve. She sighs as she finishes her cigarette. “There’s nothing that makes me happier than being friend-coupled with someone I trust. And I mean it,” she says, sincerely.

“Me too, shortcake. Honestly, there’s no other friend I’d rather be coupled up with,” the pastry chef responds. “Mobby for the win!”

When hearing how dumb the combination of both of their names sound, the brunette stifles a laugh.

“Mobby? Doesn’t it sound too much like Moby-Dick?” she says.

Bobby purses his lips. “Now that you mention it… yeah, kind of. I didn’t notice.”

“We might as well keep it short and original, and call ourselves Dick,” Minni comments lightheartedly.

Although the girl was plain joking, Bobby takes her proposal seriously, thinking it’s actually a good idea.

“You’re a genius, Minerva,” he opens his eyes wide and grins. “Dick for the win! Dick! Dick! Dick!”

After shaking her head in disbelief, Minni can do nothing but to follow along, knowing it will be useless trying to get the idea out of his head now that he has embraced it. She smiles, her low mood and most of her embarrassment washing away, and starts chanting with him.

“Dick! Dick! Dick!”

**In the bedroom - Late at night.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iwJD6gfea8)**

Without being able to fall asleep yet, despite being dead tired, Gary shifts to his side. It’s been almost half an hour since the lights turned off, right after Noah and Hope went into the Hideaway. He thought that he would doze off easier now that Noah’s loud snores wouldn’t echo across the bedroom, but it turns out that his new partner, Lottie, snores too.

Sighing, he moves his head so he can see her better. She’s just sleeping soundly next to him, her colored hair all over her face blowing a little as sounds escape her mouth. Even if this is not what he wanted, he guesses that he has to give her an opportunity and try his best to make this work. Being in a couple with his second option is not so bad after all, but it’s certainly not how he expected this day to end. And she surely didn’t expect Minni to pie him off like that.

For him, her choice makes kind of sense. She has been hanging out with Bobby the most out of all the lads— most mornings he woke up to see them making breakfast together, he usually found them chatting in the bean bags or clowning around, always being part of some shenanigan and planning their next prank. The Scottish even has a cute pet name for her already; _shortcake_ , Gary’s heard him call her. Whereas he calls her _mate_. _How deceiving_ , he reckons.

He is still a little confused about all of this, but he’s willing to speak to her tomorrow and finally be completely honest by getting his feelings out in the open, making it clear that she has been his first choice all along. With that, he plans to wrap things up and find out if she is still interested in him, even if it’s just a little. He’d feel better just with that, honestly. He’s starting to profoundly hate this uncertainty.

Perhaps Gary’s worst mistake was playing it too cool with Minni, taking her for granted, or chicken out when the new boys arrived and started grafting on her. If he would’ve spent more time with her, if he had hinted to the rest of the lads that he was interested in her, possibly he could’ve turned her head or at least realized earlier that she is more into Bobby.

All of those regrets are what keep him sleepless, not Lottie’s snores, he concludes. He stays still, staring at the ceiling amongst colored neon lights, feeling gloomy, his eyes somber. He can’t get out of his mind the thought that if he would’ve tried harder, maybe Minni would be lying between his arms now, or they could’ve even claimed the Hideaway before anyone else.

He sighs once more and moves to lie on his side, his exhausted gaze landing on the two people sleeping in the bed next to him. As Noah and Hope are not here, their mattress is empty, leaving him with a clear view of the bed following theirs in the row, with it being none other than Bobby and Minni’s.

The blond man can’t put a name on the emotion that surges in his chest when he sees the girl that he still fancies so much curled between the arms of his mate. His crystal blue sight just lingers in them as he keeps thinking the same things over and over again. He doesn’t even perceive that, on the inside, Minni is an emotional wreck right now, her insomnia being more present than ever. She maintains her eyes shut, trying to sink into the warmth of Bobby’s arms, fighting to keep her mind blank. And even when she’s wide awake right now, she doesn’t notice that Gary is lying on his side, looking at her from his bed, as all she thinks about is him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that happened >:D Minni and Gary can't catch a break, apparently. and now you all see why Lottie had the necessity to be Minni's bff all along. here comes the angst and more confusion for the rest of the fic hehe so brace yourselves because things get real messy♥ i hope you liked it and see you next chapter.


	9. Day 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary gasps for air, fighting to focus on his breathing, but all the drama surrounding him and his involvement in most of it keep him from calming down. Nothing has worked for him since he got here; not his attempts with Marisol, not trying to like Lottie, and certainly not his ever looming, incessant crush on Minni. And all he’s done is screw things up by trying to play the field, hide his feelings and stay cool at the same time, trying to move with the flow instead of stirring it in his favor. No wonder things aren’t going his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi beautiful people✿✼:*ﾟhere's a new chapter. i'm sorry if it's a bit messy because there's a lot going on with the characters at the moment, so i tried my best :3 anyway, i hope you enjoy reading!

**Day 10**

**In the kitchen – Morning.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuCK-oiE3rM)**

“Where are the puff pastry sheets again?”

“In the bottom left cabinet, shortcake.”

With tired eyes and a soft smile, Minni rummages in the cabinet until she finds the package. She extends her hand to Bobby and he takes it gently while multitasking in the counter, a bunch of ingredients and utensils scattered across the white table. Then, the girl takes her seat back on the stool and her cobalt orbs go directly to one of her physics books, which is placed right in front of her. She rubs her eye lazily.

Bobby woke her up a few hours ago offering to make her strudels for breakfast, and although Minni was dead tired, she got out of bed, put her hair into two space buns and went to the kitchen with the only condition that she would be just assisting him instead of properly cooking. The Scottish was glad to accept her terms, knowing that it would take a while for him to bring the girl’s spirits back to normal after yesterday’s Recoupling. He hopes his pastry helps, even if it’s just a little, but his expectations are getting lower every minute that passes since Gary and Lottie arrived to the kitchen to share breakfast.

“I don’t think that’s right…” Gary tells Lottie with a troubled expression.

“Why not? You said it yourself, the tea leaves never lie,” she insists.

The crane operator scratches the back of his neck without saying anything else. He feels tense all over and he doesn’t know if it’s because he hasn’t gotten over what happened last night or because his new partner is trying to drag him into reading tea leaves this early in the day. In any case, he can’t help throwing small glances at Minni whenever he can. The blue-eyed girl is reading calmly in front of him, strings of wavy chocolate brown hair falling out of her hairdo and framing her face, freckles standing out because of the morning sunlight hitting the lower part of her face. She’s wearing an oversized shirt with her university logo in it, making her look smaller than usual.

Gary has been trying to catch her eyes for minutes, but she is too focused to even notice that he’s there, a peaceful expression settled in her delicate features. He rests his sight on her until Bobby’s slender figure interrupts his vision, his face perching over the girl’s shoulder with a smirk.

“What are you reading?”

The student smiles. “How to determine the size of a neutron star.”

While mixing something inside a bowl, the pastry chef makes a face and returns to his place in the counter. He doesn’t actually enjoy when Minni starts ranting about physics and math and all that jazz because he never understands anything and can’t participate in the conversation, but in this moment he knows it’s an easy way to get her mind out of things and, most importantly, get her talking. “And how do you do that?”

When her face lights up instantly, he knows he did the right thing. _Bingo_ , he thinks. Maybe getting up so early to make strudels wasn’t really necessary, after all.

“Is a tricky business, to be honest,” she starts. “If we had a model that exactly describes nuclear, quark, or whatever matter is inside a neutron star as a function of density, radius and pressure, all the same more or less, we could plug this model into a set of equations called TOV— the Tollmann Oppenheimer Volkoff equations…”

As Bobby zones out, pretending to listen while he unrolls the pastry sheets and cuts them into small rectangles, Gary’s attention goes back to Minni instantly. Although this time he is not able to catch up on what she’s trying to explain, he surely takes interest in her when she gets chatty like this. He can’t comprehend why the more he watches her, the more he convinces himself that he wants to keep trying things with her out of everyone else, even when he is coupled up with someone as hot as Lottie. He hopes the door is still a little open for him, that pulling Minni aside to have a private word today will help him clarify things; he doesn’t want to step on Bobby’s toes and he has to make sure to know where her mind is at before trying anything with her.

“Gary, are you even listening to me?” Lottie whines next to him.

The blond’s blue eyes turn rapidly to her and to the mug she’s holding between her pale hands. “Oh, um, sorry.”

Meanwhile, Minni keeps enthusiastically explaining to Bobby, who still pretends to be listening as he nods absentmindedly and places some strawberry jam in the center of each pastry strip. “… all you need to know is the mass or central pressure, as that’s the only leftover free parameter, and you can compute the radius. So then comes the EOS, or Equation of State, and gravitational wave astronomy can help us with that. In the EOS encoded is how good matter sticks together—”

“Sorry to interrupt, but would you like to help me or not?” the pastry chef asks, sharing a smile.

Feeling better now, the girl stands up and follows his instructions as they make simple strudels. A few minutes pass, both couples minding their own business and talking to each other nonchalantly. After reflecting during her sleepless night yesterday, Minni concluded that it would not be fair to act frosty with either Gary or Lottie— in the girl’s eyes is not their fault that they want to be together and that she somehow got trapped in the middle. Even though she’s smart, she still doesn’t see that it’s the other way around, and the idea of Gary possibly fancying her more than Lottie never crosses her mind again. Her plan for now is to act as her normal self even when it stings a little to see the two being coupled up, as she tries to move on and keep her mind out of it with Bobby’s help.

As Minni is pressing the ends of the strudels so they stick together, with the focus and slow pace that could only belong to a beginner in Bobby’s eyes, the pastry chef finds himself staring at her longer than he intended to. Soon, the strudels are already in the oven, with the ones she made arranged on the left side of the tray and the boy’s at the other, and suddenly Bobby doesn’t know how to keep himself distracted from _her_. So, he chooses to cope with his newfound feelings in the way he always does, which is by clowning around.

Without Minni noticing, he scoops a bunch of leftover strawberry jam with his finger and sticks it on top of her nose. She yelps.

“What was that for?” the girl scrunches her nose and giggles.

The boy just evil laughs and attacks her again. Minni squeals, trying to pry his finger out of her face as he attempts to draw things in her skin. In no time, his small jab at her becomes an actual jam and pastry fight, leaving Gary and Lottie as witnesses. Whereas the first one chuckles at the scene, the other one just watches, perplexed for a while, and then turns to him.

“Gary, could you pass me that toast?” the blonde girl asks, pointing at the last toast on a plate beside him.

His crystal blue eyes follow her perfectly painted nail, which hovers over his last piece of toast. “Oh, but I was going to eat that,” the man responds, kind of confused. “It’s in my plate.”

“That’s not your plate,” Lottie raises an eyebrow, confused. She signals a bowl of colorful cereal and milk in front of him. “This is your plate.”

“That’s my second plate,” Gary clarifies.

His partner crosses her arms in front of her chest and frowns. “I can’t believe you’re making up excuses just to keep that toast.”

Meanwhile, Bobby and Minni are laughing out loud and having a great time, their faces already covered with leftover ingredients. The Scottish feels his heart beating fast and tries to ignore it as much as he can, forcing himself to shake off the feeling. He ends up holding the brunette girl with one arm around her back as she does her best to cover her face by using her hands.

“You’re wasting ingredients, Minerva!” Bobby yells as the girl finally breaks free and rubs a hand covered in jam in his face.

“You started it!” she laughs. “Surrender!”

“Nev—”

Being interrupted by the loud beeping of the oven, Bobby instantly turns around and the food fight magically fades, both making a silent truce. The pair gets closer to the oven and, as soon as the boy opens it, both erupt into laughter once again. Bobby’s side of the tray is flawless, with perfectly cooked strudels with immaculate edges, while Minni’s is a mess of jam and puff pastry sheets.

“I told you to seal the edges!” he cackles, looking at the mess. He usually would be mad at this situation, because he is a perfectionist in the kitchen and really treasures perfectly made pastries, but he could never get angry at Minni, especially when it took him this much to cheer her up.

“I did!” Minni covers her eyes from embarrassment.

“You know what? Just stick to doing math, Minerva,” Bobby jokes, poking at her side.

The girl fakes being mad and pouts, looking in another direction. With a chuckle, Bobby loops his arm around her shoulders and nudges her. Abruptly, both notice that while they were having such a laugh, Lottie and Gary’s conversation has turned into a small argument.

“Can’t we just, like, share half and half?” Gary sighs, exasperated. “You even took my side of the bed last night.”

Lottie rolls her eyes. “What does that even have to do with toast?”

“Well, because at least you could let me have this one,” the man shrugs.

Bobby shakes his head. “Oi, you two,” he speaks to both, interrupting them. “Stop arguing and try one of these horrendous strudels made by Dick themselves!”

Without waiting for an answer and hoping his intervention stops the bickering, he grabs the tray with his oven gloves and places it on the counter in front of them. Gary perks up at the sight of food, despite seeing that half of the tray looks like a barely edible mess. Just then, he processes what Bobby said last.

“Dick?” the blond man asks, puzzled.

“Yeah. That’s our couple name,” Minni beams.

“Um, can I ask you why?” Lottie looks confused and mildly disgusted.

“Well, yesterday I mashed our names together. You know, to get a standard couple name. And it came out as Mobby,” the Scottish explains. “But Minni thought the Mobby thing sounded similar to Moby-Dick, the novel. So we took it, shortened it and now we’re _Dick_.”

After hearing his explanation, Lottie laughs and shakes her head in disbelief, putting some hot strudels into her plate; she never expected Bobby and Minni to make such a good couple and start moving this fast. It turns out to be a great surprise because that means that the younger girl will not be getting in the middle of her and Gary anytime soon, and it also helps washing out the little guilt she felt for what she did yesterday.

On the other hand, Gary looks thoughtful as he lets the idea of Minni and Bobby having a couple name already sink in, even though it’s a stupid one. He reminds himself that Minni relishes on dumb jokes like that, especially if they include innuendos. That’s why she laughs at his puns in the first place. Oddly, he feels that she has put him to a side even in the jokes department.

He looks at the couple as they start serving their freshly made pastries and notices how happy they look while still covered in jam after having a spontaneous food fight, and how well they work together even when they mostly fool around.

Gary sighs internally— he can’t bring himself to pull Minni away from Bobby now. He just _can’t_ , not when she looks this _joyful_. Now that it seems that his attempts to go further with the blue-eyed bird he fancies so much will be put in the backburner for now, for the sake of her happiness, he knows that he has to make things work with his second option in the meantime. He has to give Lottie a chance to turn his head completely and try extra hard to be friendly to her. He quite likes her anyway, this helping him to convince himself that he has to move on. So, discarding his idea to have a chat with Minni later, he turns to his partner.

“Hey, you know what, Lozza? You can have the toast,” he says. “Fancy another cuppa?”

**In the kitchen – Noon.**

Gary wrinkles his nose as he inspects the bright orange smoothie maker. He discarded the instruction booklet a long time ago, leaving Lucas perplexed and just trying to help while both fumble with the pieces.

“No, look, mate, if the blades are on the bottom—” the crane operator murmurs, flipping the machine and staring at the base.

“Wait, I think this part goes here,” Lucas says, handing him a round plastic cup.

The blond looks at it briefly and immediately makes a signal to Lucas, indicating him to put it aside. He doesn’t even have to try to put it near the base to know that it doesn’t fit. After working to much with machines and mechanics, he has a great eye when it comes to measuring pieces and knowing which part fits and which simply does not.

“No, it’s not flush with the base,” he states, pursing his lips as he thinks.

“Hold the top, I’ll open it this way,” the physiotherapist tries to help.

As both have their large hands in the smoothie machine, Minni walks into the kitchen, a trail of raspberry scented mist following her. She takes off her sunglasses and places them on top of her head, confused by the scenario of both men trying to figure out a bright orange appliance. It looks like the smoothie maker Rocco used to produce his renowned wheatgrass smoothies and cocktails with.

“Want me to call Rocco?” she teases with a smirk.

The two boys turn to look at her, just now noticing that she’s there.

Lucas grins. “Minni, you’re smart,” he speaks. “Do you know anything about machines?”

She offers him a sheepish smile because of his compliment and before she can answer Gary takes all the machine parts he can gather in his hands, his eyebrows furrowed. He is sure he could figure out what’s wrong with this thing in no time if they just leave him alone or keep quiet so he can think more clearly.

“I know about machines! Just let me do it!” he says, grumpy.

Stepping aside, the Asian boy shrugs. “I didn’t even want a smoothie _that_ much…” he mumbles.

The situation intrigues Minni on a deeper level, so she just leans on the counter in front of Gary and keeps quiet. A peaceful expression settles on his face and she realizes that he seems to enjoy solving the problem on his own. Minni has never seen him this focused before, his crystal eyes inspecting piece by piece and his deft fingers moving parts to a side and grabbing others at a calm pace. She had the hunch that he is smarter than he seems, but seeing how he assembles the components without even looking at the instructions manual basically confirms her suspicions.

Her curious blue eyes move from his hands to his face. The way he has his nose slightly scrunched in concentration and his eyebrows imperceptibly knit together make him look insanely attractive, for some reason. It’s just this determined, stubborn and _thinking_ aura around his expression that causes actual butterflies to appear inside Minni’s belly. It’s all such a contrast with his usual cheeky smirks and goofy beams. The girl unconsciously bites the inside of her lip, not being able to take her eyes out of him.

“That’ll be your problem, mate,” he says when he has most of the smoothie maker assembled, making her snap out of her thoughts. “There’s an O-ring missing.”

“That makes sense,” Lucas agrees, taking a peek to the insides of the machine.

“What’s an O-ring, Gary?” Minni asks, curious.

The man fixes his eyes on her. He notices that her cheeks have a small shade of pink, but doesn’t think much of it. “Little bit of rubber shaped like a ring. Wonder who took it out of the box?”

“Someone who’s planning a rubber proposal?” the Asian boy suggests with a smirk.

“Oh, is that what the kids care calling it these days?” Gary jokes.

Even though Minni knows it’s a terrible joke, a giggle escapes though her lips. She attempts to cover her mouth with her hand, but is not quick enough and Gary ends up hearing her anyways. The blond man’s eyes lighten up, glad that he hasn’t lost the skill to make her laugh from time to time.

The brunette girl is aware that Lucas starts speaking at the moment, but can’t bring herself to pay attention to him when she just realized how much she still likes Gary. Her sight doesn’t leave him as she scans his face; his thick and dark eyebrows, his straight nose, soft lips and strong chin. She looks at him in the eyes while he looks in another direction. With this lighting they acquire a color similar to Neptune— not the god, the planet. Although Gary’s body might look like it was carved by the gods themselves. Then, her gaze travels across his wide chest and strong arms. She almost wants to disappear and turn to dust when she remembers how warm if felt to have him wrapped around her, when she remembers his peppermint smell.

 _Why is this man so hard to forget?_ she asks herself. The fact that she has to see him every day, especially with few clothes on doesn’t help at all. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do to get over him, when he’s one hundred percent her type and more.

When Gary turns to her in order to tell her something, she pretends she hasn’t been looking at him this entire time.

“Had to be Rocco. He was the smoothie man,” he says. After that, he flashes her a smile that she thinks could melt anyone in the spot.

**Ministry of Sound Party – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB4MhSCsbFQ)**

Most of the boys step outside at the same time, their eyes scanning the lawn. The Villa’s garden has been transformed for the evening’s party, with fairy lights and luminous globes hanging everywhere, bathing the scene in twinkling gold.

“Mate, this looks well posh,” Gary grins.

“Yeah, bruv. It looks amazing,” Rahim agrees.

The blond man faces his friend to make a joke when he realizes that one of the golden tattoos they put earlier on is smudged, almost falling from his face.

“Rahim, mate, one of your stickers is falling,” he says, pointing at his face.

“For the last time, they’re not called stickers. They’re temporary tattoos,” Lucas shakes his head in disbelief, a smile tugging his lips.

With the intention of giving a witty remark, Gary turns to Lucas, but unexpectedly he notices the physiotherapist’s eyes growing slightly wide as he looks at something behind him. The Chathamite turns around and sees Minni getting out of the Villa, with her classic calm way of walking as she approaches them. She’s wearing a very short red dress, black high heels and her hair loose and completely straightened. Golden tattoos adorn her skin just like the rest of the Islanders, a single heart standing out in her left cheekbone, matching his.

Somewhat mesmerized by the way she looks tonight, Gary opens his mouth to greet her, but closes it immediately without saying anything— she’s wearing red lipstick, a bold color he’s never seen in her before. She looks absolutely stunning in his eyes.

For the first time in the Villa, he feels rather self-conscious for practically wearing just flannels and simple shirts every day. That insecurity rapidly disappears when he sees Bobby walking towards them, wearing an exuberant purple and yellow pattered shirt, unbuttoned almost as down as his belly button. Maybe Gary’s good ol’ plain shirt isn’t so bad for this occasion, after all.

“Hey, boys,” Minni greets with a soft smile. She moves her shoulders almost unnoticeably, at the rhythm of the song that’s playing from the speakers. “The music is really good. How are you not dancing already?”

The girl feels ready to get the party started, in need of that thrill after so many bad days. She feels like finally things will start going her way, as she managed to dodge completely that whole Operation Nope thing Bobby, Priya and Ibrahim tried to scheme this afternoon. With her only intervention being talking some sense to Hope and making sure Priya was alright, Minni she has no involvement in the conflict whatsoever, which is great when most of the drama in the Villa until now had her in the middle trying to make peace, if not in the center of it.

“Minni’s is right. Let’s get this party started,” Lucas says with a grin. He takes her hand and twirls her, making her spin. The girl giggles.

After a few minutes, all of the Islanders are reunited in the lawn dancing in groups. The night is a little warmer than the previous ones, the usual choir of insects being muffled by the music around the group, fairy lights forming shadows amongst shiny party dresses, high heels, champagne flutes and bottles of beer.

Various times and with the side of his eyes, Gary catches Minni’s small red-covered frame floating cheerfully across the different groups of people, looking like an angel despite her daring outfit. He itches to dance with her, but is not sure if he should do it. When he catches her briefly dancing alone with a half-empty glass of strawberry vodka in one hand, he ends up deciding to do so, not being able to resist. He reckons Bobby isn’t a jealous lad and that a little dancing would do no harm.

“Mind if I cut in?” he asks after tapping her shoulder, a cheeky smile on his face.

Shocked by his suggestion at first, the girl blinks a couple of times. She has tried so hard to get his man out of her head during the day and this is a huge threat to tear down all the walls she’s built between him and her, but at the same time she can’t bring herself to say no. She just feels confused now, wondering if he’s actually flirting again or just trying to have some fun. _It’s just dancing_ , she tells herself. And this is Love Island, after all. The worst thing that could happen is having Lottie make a scene— nevermind, the worst thing that could happen is Minni falling for him.

“Just if you share that,” she responds, playing it cool.

She nods towards the bottle of beer in his hand. Gary’s smile widens.

“Cheeky,” he simply says.

With his eyes not leaving hers, he hands her the bottle. Minni takes a sip before returning it with a smug smirk. Slowly, they begin to move at the rhythm of the music, finding a perfect distance from one another, just close enough so the girl can feel the usual warmth radiating from his body and he can smell her raspberry perfume. The music buzzes in their ears as they take turns to swig from the bottle, and when Minni’s effortless sways start slowing down, Gary does the same, the air between them magnetizing

“I hear footsteps!” Marisol exclaims all of the sudden.

The pair’s focus on each other snaps away, their attention turning to the rest of the group.

“Shhh! Let’s hide!” Ibrahim suggests, trying to pull Noah towards the cocktail table.

“Why would we hide?” the librarian asks, puzzled.

“Why wouldn’t we hide?” Minni smirks, devilish.

Lottie opens her mouth wide when she spots two figures approaching them. “There are two of them!” she exclaims, pointing towards the back gate.

Two new Islanders emerge on the garden path, dressed to party. The first one is a tanned blonde girl, with dark blue eyes and pouty lips, who is wearing a shiny pink two-piece. And the other one is a tall, very pale guy, with a massive physique and immaculate white pants.

“I can’t believe I’m here!” the girl exclaims, her voice overall squeaky.

“Hi, ladies. My name’s Jakub,” the man presents himself with a smug expression.

Gary’s eyes scan the new girl instantly. _She’s so fit_ , he reckons. Next, his sight goes to the new guy; he’s intimidatingly huge, like those men he used to see at the gym whenever he went, at all times. By now, at one side of the lawn, most of the girls are close enough to start gossiping. Marisol leans closer to Minni, her hand covering her mouth so the new arrivals can’t see her speaking.

“He’s so fit,” she comments, her dark eyes not leaving Jakub. “What do you think?”

Minni raises her eyebrow, not impressed by his looks. She likes big guys, but he looks like a mountain, and not in a good way. And it seems like he chooses willingly smaller sizes of clothing to show off his muscles. She purses her lips.

“I don’t like making fun of people’s appearances, but...” she says in a whisper to the girls. “He looks like an albino Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle… without the ‘teenage’. And like he eats glue-sticks for brekkie.”

Lottie stifles a chuckle and Marisol quickly avoids looking directly at him for a few seconds as not to laugh too.

“OMG! Hi, everyone! My name is Chelsea!” the new girl yells, gleeful. Unanticipatedly, she runs straight for Minni, arms out for a hug. Without having proper time to think, Minni’s first instinct is to hug he back. Just then, the blonde squeezes her enthusiastically. “I’m so glad to meet you, Minerva! Oh, can I call you Minni, too? I feel like I should, right?” she says. “It feels like I know you already! We’ve seen every episode so far.”

The physics student giggles, already liking the girl’s bubbly personality. She likes to hang out with people with good vibes in general and it seems like Chelsea spills positivity, even when she’s coming in too strong.

“You’ve been watching us?” Hope asks, her eyebrows raised.

“That’s right. And let me just say one thing,” Jakub answers, confident. “If the boys here aren’t up for the challenge of a real woman like Priya, I am.”

“Oh!” Priya opens her brown eyes wide in surprise. “What else did you guys see?”

“A lot. I have so many opinions,” Chelsea intervenes, just now letting go of Minni. She takes a step aside and smiles. “But I think the big thing was that kiss.”

After hearing her, Hope rapidly turns to Noah, fear muddling with anger in her expression. “What kiss?” she questions.

“I don’t know,” Noah shrugs.

A deep frown forms in the dark-skinned girl’s face. “Did you kiss Priya and lie to me?”

“I told you, no! Stop accusing me of things!” her partner exclaims, exasperated.

“That’s actually not what I’m talking about,” Chelsea intervenes. She ends up almost in the middle of the group, everyone staring at her for a while.

Then, the Islanders all look at each other. There’s a nervous silence, just the party music resonating in the background. The cheerful and vibrant tone of the song definitely doesn’t match the tense atmosphere between them.

As he tries to figure out what the new girl is talking about, Gary rummages in his memories until he remembers that time Lottie kissed him in the bathroom, right after Hannah left. Maybe something like that would make a huge scandal on the outside, but it was just a peck and they never talked about it afterwards. In his opinion, it’s more plausible that she could be referring to his secret snog with Minni at the gym; that one was a proper kiss and he didn’t pull back. Just then, he groans, and slaps his forehead with his palm. Next, his anxious eyes rapidly go to look at the brunette girl.

Noticing Gary’s body suddenly tense next to her and then hearing him groan, Minni moves her sight to stare up at him for a brief moment. He looks so nervous and concerned, his jaw clenched. Once he catches her eyes, his light blue orbs quickly dart towards the gym and then back at her. Minni immediately catches the hint and bites the inside of her cheek, worrying.

“Oh, no,” Lottie mumbles, much to everyone’s surprise.

All eyes are on Chelsea now, although her gaze is fixed on the Aussie girl. The new arrival is clearly excited to drop the news. “Lottie, I thought you were supposed to be the loyal one.”

“I am!” Lottie protests.

“Then how did you end up snogging Gary, when you knew that Minni had something going on with him?” Chelsea asks, with genuine doubt.

Abruptly, Minni feels like a ton of bricks are dropped on top of her. She has a heavy sensation crowding her chest; she doesn’t know how she should feel about all of this. Of course she knew that Lottie and Gary were kind of cracking on before being coupled up, but she never expected that it went that far. She can’t believe that two of her best mates in here were capable of hiding something like that to her after what Rocco did, even when they have the right to kiss whoever they please. All at once, her confusion turns into hurt, and then into cluttering anger.

She notices Lottie’s green eyes on her, but she doesn’t return the look right away. Instead, the younger girl raises her eyebrow at Chelsea, her expression clearly showing surprise at first. When she feels confident and collected enough, she folds her arms in front of her chest and turns her icy gaze to Lottie.

“So that night...” Minni begins, her usual soft nature completely gone, replaced by an irritated face and bitter voice. “... when Gary had to choose between Marisol and Hannah at the recoupling and Hannah got sent home... you cracked on with him?” she inquires.

Ibrahim shoots Gary a look. “Bruh...”

The crawling feeling beneath the crane operator’s skin makes him drop his gaze to his feet, wanting to do anything to avoid the judging eyes of his mates and not having to see their faces. He can’t bring himself to look at Minni now, but senses her anger sizzling next to him. She has all the rights to feel betrayed by the two, he reckons, especially when she found comfort in them after Rocco played her— now she must believe that Gary and he are all the same. If he thought that his chances with her were slim after she coupled up with Bobby, now they have dropped to an absolute zero. And that, out of all else, is what hurts him the most.

One by one, the Islanders turn to stare at Lottie. Minni maintains her poisonous gaze without saying anything else, her body language defiant. The base of Marisol’s champagne flute hits the table with a thud.

“So it was you who Gary kissed after the Recoupling,” she tells Lottie. “Thought as much.”

The Aussie’s face turns beetroot red and her pastel colored hair falls in front of her face. Jakub cuts in just as she’s about to speak

“What’s all this, then?” he says with an unnecessary loud and thundering voice. He puffs his chest. “I thought we were having a party, and I’ve got some fit girls I wanna get chirpsing with.”

“Yeah, I think maybe we should give these guys some space,” Ibrahim agrees, cautiously.

Marisol nods. “Smart idea. I’m not in the mood to have my evening ruined.”

The new boy’s smug grin widens, his tongue sticking out slightly. “All my party people, on me!” he exclaims before breaking into an energetic jog.

Most of the Islanders follow behind Jakub towards the pool. In that moment, Gary gathers enough courage to try to explain everything to Minni and starts walking over to her, but Noah shakes his head and catches him by the arm, leading him away. The dark-skinned boy remembers how the girl could explode when things like this happen, so he knows it’s best to let her calm down before letting Gary approach her. Soon, it’s just Minni, Priya, Chelsea and Lottie standing in the lawn, forming a messed-up circle. There’s a moment of silence between them as Priya paces back and forth, her heels sharply rapping against the decking.

“So you’re telling me that after all your ranting about Girl Code and after everything you’ve said about me, this whole time you were just sitting on the fact that you kissed your supposed best friend’s crush, not even hours after she was out of the picture?” the older girl says. Then, she shakes her head. “And totally knowing Minni, your other best friend, still had feelings for him?”.

Chelsea chimes in, not realizing the seriousness of the drama she caused. “Yep, that’s totes what it looked like to me, babes.”

Quickly, Lottie shoots a glare at Chelsea, but the girl doesn’t notice. At one side, Minni watches quietly and oddly chill, only her venomous facial expression showing how she really feels on the inside. Her murky and on edge aura gives the atmosphere a tense hint.

“It was _one_ kiss,” Lottie says, looking at Minni, in an apologetic tone. By now she knows their friendship is probably over and that it will be so hard for her to get into the girl’s good side again. It’s all she first feared it would happen.

“Yeah? Well I haven’t kissed anyone I wasn’t supposed to, but somehow I’m still the bad guy in your eyes,” Priya interrupts.

“Not for lack of trying,” Lottie rapidly shoots back.

Just then, Minni rolls her eyes. “This is pointless,” she says, coldly.

The three girls turn to look at her. By putting all her emotion-hiding skills to display, the brunette does her best not to show how upset she feels and manages just well, as always. The only thing that gives anything away is her exasperated expression. With her feelings racing to come to surface, she doesn’t really know what to do but to display a stone-cold disgust. However, on the inside, her fight or flight reaction gets triggered all of the sudden. And Minni always chooses flight.

“I need a cig,” she finishes, turning around, maintaining the same cold facade. With that, she saunters towards the Villa, her black heels taking determined steps.

Chelsea gasps, without taking her eyes off her as she walks. “You know when she storms like that, there’s going to be real trouble later.”

Realizing that she’s actually leaving, Lottie’s annoyed facial expression turns to anger. “Minerva!” she calls out urgently, but the girl has already disappeared inside.

**In the bedroom – Nighttime.**

After making sure nobody is in the bedroom, Gary sits down on the edge of his bed. During the whole situation that went down at the party, he managed to keep it together for a few minutes before he had to take a step aside to check his head, an underlying anxiety not letting him enjoy himself.

When he places his hands at each side of his head, a flood of thoughts abruptly filling his mind. All the pressure, confusion and frustration from the Villa crash on him in an instant, every worry, insecurity and bad decision he’s made looking bigger and scarier than they really are. Hastily, the edges of them blur and it’s difficult for him to keep his head pointing in a single direction, to follow a path of thought, and now it feels like it just spins and spins. It’s when his breath starts quickening when he has a mild idea of what’s happening to him right now— he hasn’t had an anxiety attack like this since forever.

Gary gasps for air, fighting to focus on his breathing, but all the drama surrounding him and his involvement in most of it keep him from calming down. Nothing has worked for him since he got here; not his attempts with Marisol, not trying to like Lottie, and certainly not his ever looming, incessant crush on Minni. And all he’s done is screw things up by trying to play the field, hide his feelings and stay cool at the same time, trying to move with the flow instead of stirring it in his favor. No wonder things aren’t going his way.

In a desperate attempt to hide from the cameras, knowing that there are people watching his silent breakdown, he covers his face with both of his hands, this making it more difficult for him to even his breathing.

To begin with, Lottie being in the middle of everything confuses the hell out of him. Gary can’t figure out if he truly likes her or not, because whenever he starts to take interest in her, her strong character makes him backtrack and close off. Or worse, something reminds him of Minni— he hears a giggle of hers across the lawn, he sees her walking by, or even her image shows up in his mind and sweeps him off his feet. He is sure that Lottie fancies him since they kissed, but he’s not sure if he nearly likes her the same. All of this only makes him feel worse because he’s starting to question if he’s leading her on or not.

Promptly, he starts _worrying_ about having lost Minni’s trust because of this. He never thought his peck with Lottie was important enough to bring it up with her and he reckons it wouldn’t have bothered her that much, but now that the secret came to light this way, in front of everyone and after what happened between her and Rocco, his choice of not telling her looks incredibly sketchy. He let Minni down and now the only thing that comes to his mind are his nan’s words: you don’t get second chances.

Minutes pass and he feels like he can’t breathe at all, that he can’t get his thoughts straight. All of the sudden, he hears someone calling him from the bathroom’s door. “Gary?” a deep voice asks. “Are you alright, bruv?”

The blond man lifts his head to see Ibrahim walking towards him with long steps, a preoccupied expression in his features. Without being able to catch his breath properly, Gary shakes his head, burying his face in his hands again. He rapidly feels a strong hand in the middle of his back, soothing him.

“It’s fine, lad. Let it all out,” Ibrahim murmurs. “I got you.”

Sharply, Gary gasps for air. “I— d-don’t tell…” he pants. “Don’t tell… a-anyone.”

“I won’t, don’t worry,” his friend responds. “Just focus on breathing, yeah?”

Instead of that, he keeps hearing the blond talking through puffs and gulps of air. “I-I fucked up,” he mutters as he rubs his face anxiously. “All I’ve… all I’ve done is f—.”

“Gary, mate, everything’s fine,” Ibrahim tells him, sincerely. “I know you’re feeling like everything’s worse than it is, but it’s not. Once you’ve calmed down, you’ll see.”

The other man nods, closing his eyes tightly. Ibrahim stays with him for the few minutes that takes for him to progressively slow down hyperventilation, remembering how Gary stuck with him after he felt unsure and vulnerable when he found out the girls voted him for the less eligible. He got so insecure about himself and his friend somehow managed to make him feel better and helped him gain more confidence, giving him a small push so he could put himself out there a little bit more. The golfer surely appreciates the way Gary is always worrying about others, and hopes he can help him through this one.

He waits until his breathing reaches a normal pace to speak. “It’s all momentary drama, mate. That kiss is not a big deal, nobody blames you for that.”

As he is just calming down, Gary’s head is still spinning slightly. Although he now realizes that his stressed-out mind made him escalate the size of his problems, he is sure that what happened today will have some consequences in one way or another. “Minni does,” the blond says. “I was cracking on with her when that thing happened. She must think I’m another Rocco now.”

Ibrahim shakes his head. “She was definitely mad, but I’m sure that it will pass if you don’t make a big deal out of it. And if she is still bothered by tomorrow, you could always try and explain. Just not now, though. She’s kind of out of it.”

“Must’ve been the beer, that,” Gary lets out a small chuckle.

Noticing that his mate is much better, the golfer offers him a smile. “As I said, no-one blames you, honest. Things like that happen here.”

The Chathamite sighs. “I know. It’s just… it all got to my head, I reckon.” There’s a pause, both hearing the splashes and laughter coming from the pool, before he talks again. “I, um… thanks for that, mate,” he murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Don’t mention it,” Ibrahim beams. Unexpectedly, the golfer pulls his friend into a hug and pats his back strongly. The strong smell of his expensive cologne hits Gary’s nose, his nostrils itching instantly. “Liven up. The party is just starting and that new girl is well fit. We should go and get to know her.”

With a small alleviated smile, Gary pulls back. He’s about to say something when, without a warning, sneezes loudly. “Mate, you wear too much cologne,” he jokes, scratching his nose.

**At the lawn – Later at night.[♪](youtube.com/watch?v=aTiWVFVZp1o)**

“Ugh, that’s so Lottie,” Chelsea comments with a sigh. “She’ll get over it. But for now, us, girlies, should get our party vibes going.”

Just when the new girl and Priya are alone speaking to each other, Minni comes back. She is holding a glass filled with strawberry vodka and smells heavily like cigarettes. By now, it seems like that kind of scent is well associated with her being stressed out.

After the unexpected news and drama, she needed desperately an escape to avoid exploding, so once she found her pack of cigarettes inside her drawer in the dressing room, she didn’t think of a better idea than to drink half a bottle of bubbly on her own, smoke half of her pack and join the pool party. Then, with her feelings being muffled by alcohol, she decided to see what Priya and Chelsea were up to.

The brunette finishes her cigarette by the time she arrives to their place in the patio, the same spot where she left them— Lottie is nowhere to be seen. When the brunette close enough, Chelsea turns around and notices her presence.

“Ooh, Minni!” she exclaims and smiles warmly at her. “Thank goodness you’re back. I thought you were going to explode just like when that Rocco thing happened...” she trails off.

Priya’s eyes open wide. “Chelsea!”

The younger girl doesn’t seem affected by the comment; she’s already mildly drunk. Instead of answering right away, she takes a last lingering drag of smoke and gives Chelsea a tipsy smile, batting her eyelashes. “Nah. It’s not worth it, hun. Not when we got all of this drinks to ourselves!”

Knowing that she’s not dealing with things in a healthy way, Priya eyes her. “Minerva—" she nags her in a motherly voice tone.

Minni just holds up a finger to hush her. “I want no more drama,” she slurs.

“You’re so right!” Chelsea agrees, not understanding the seriousness of the situation.

In that moment, Lucas, Gary, Bobby and Ibrahim come up the steps, all with intentions to finally meet the new girl. Despite this, what gets Gary’s attention first is Minni’s change of attitude as soon as she sees them approaching their way. Her soft smile quivers a little and she avoids his eyes, turning around to face Priya instead. Disregarding them altogether, the girl takes a long sip of her drink, finishing it on the spot.

Chelsea claps with joy and trots over to the drinks table, ignoring the boys huddled nearby. Priya sighs, just as Minni follows, clumsily placing her glass on the table, waiting for a refill. The new girl gives her another smile and starts looking at the cocktails one by one, trying to decide which one to drink first.

“Gin o’clock?” she asks Minni, then pouts. “Aw. No gin.”

On the other side of the table, the Cantabrigian is just filling a flute with bubbly. “Actually, I think the boys are hoping to speak to you,” she says with a mischievous drunk smile, using her flute to point at them. They’re awkwardly standing not too far away, casting furtive glances at the group of girls.

“Well, the guys can wait then, can’t they?” the blonde responds. She throws them a wink as she unscrews the top off a bottle. She swiftly turns to Priya with a grin, her eyes twinkling. “Large? Or extra-large?”

Giving a final sigh of desperation, Priya ignores her offer. “I hope you know I’m not always this extra.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I totally already know that,” Chelsea answers, filling her own flute with precise skill. “You’re, like, so chill.”

Minni bats her eyelashes once more and leans back on the side of the table. “Don’t be silly, hun,” she tells her, sincerely. She smiles and takes a sip of her drink, taking a few seconds to taste the fancy bubbles. “It’s not your fault!”

“Well, thanks for saying that. I’m just through with it all,” Priya states, before getting up and walking back towards the Villa.

That leaves out the two remaining girls staring at one another, kind of confused. There’s a moment of silence between them before Gary steps towards both, a cocky smile drawn in his lips.

“Good time to cut in, girls?” he asks, lightheartedly. “Figured us lads were being a pretty weak welcome wagon for the new girl.”

The music in the background changes and some giggles can be heard from the pool. Jakub’s voice resonates across the Villa with unintelligible words. After hearing his words, Minni gives Gary a quick look, blue eyes sharp and icy. Next, she sips half of her drink quietly, ignoring him once again.

Gary instantly avoids staring at her, nervous. Despite that he’s starting to think that Rahim’s plan of acting like if nothing happened might be a bad idea giving her rejective demeanor, he can’t pull her for a chat now either. She looks quite hammered, but he guesses it’s not enough to make her forget what just went down, so he keeps his distance.

“Aww, that’s so cute!” Chelsea beams, not noticing the tension between the pair. “You guys wanna get to know me?”

“Well, yeah…” Bobby responds, hesitant.

“That’s adorable! But I’m afraid it’ll have to wait,” the new girl smirks. She puts an arm around her new friend and nudges her lightly. “My girl Minni and I were gonna have some bonding time. Weren’t we, Minni?”

The brunette speaks with her flute grazing her velvety red lips, cheekily gazing at her. “Like, with silk stockings?”

A few boys burst out laughing.

“Get your filthy minds out of the gutter,” Chelsea frowns. “Shoo! Shoo!”

Decided, she chases them off, forcing them to leave the nearby area before walking back over to the drinks table and pouring another glass of bubbly. She hands it to Minni, who still has one half-empty in her hand. The other girl drinks her old glass with one gulp and accepts her offer gladly.

“It’s so weird being in here with you guys. Like, even before now, I felt like I already knew you all,” Chelsea speaks, her face lighted up with happiness. She never thought she would actually get into Love Island, less get to meet these same people she watches on the telly, and now all is happening at once. She can’t keep her mouth shut, every thought flying across her head and exiting through her lips. “Like we could just go out for Pinot Grigios, like, tomorrow. Now every time someone brings up toes I’m like ‘when are they gonna make a Bobby joke’.”

Minni giggles after listening, already knowing that this girl will not slow down. From the corner of her eye, she sees the boys make their way back up the steps towards the both of them once again. They hover at a safe distance, glancing over. Her eyes scan Gary briefly, who is chatting with Bobby. Even when she’s not in all of her senses, she recalls what happened earlier in the party, and is still mad at him and Lottie. Chelsea notices Minni’s cobalt sight lingering on the crane operator.

“I didn’t mean to put you on the spot by bringing up that kiss. It’s just that I felt like I needed to get some gossip out there. I couldn’t help myself,” the blonde says, making the other girl turn her attention to her. The new girl takes her hand kindly and gives her a reassuring smile. “But don’t worry, I won’t mention yours,” she continues. A few seconds later, she leans towards her and whispers. “I know how much you like him.”

Taken aback by her declarations, Minni’s mouth hangs open for a few seconds, her glazed eyes wide. For a moment, she thinks she heard the girl wrong, her drunk state betraying her understanding, but then a light of logic enters her fuzzy mind. Of course Chelsea knows, because she’s been watching the show. Since things started going downhill, the Beach Hut confessions have been kind of therapeutic for Minni, and she remembers saying how much she still fancies him. She must look like a fool now, she supposes.

“And let me tell you, he’s totally into you,” Chelsea goes on, covering her mouth with her hand so the boys can’t figure out what they’re talking about.

“I-Is he?” the brunette stutters. “But… but Lottie…”

The new girl waves a dismissive hand. “That’s pretty much all you need to know for now, babes. Believe me, he’s smitten,” she says with a huge smile. She puts down her glass. “You should’ve totally seen his Beach Hut conf—”

Before she can say anything, the boys start to move in, but scramble again at the sound of approaching heels. In that moment, Lottie’s arrives to the lawn like a storm. Her eyes are puffy and her makeup is smudged beneath them. Not fazed by her sudden entrance, Minni quirks an eyebrow and takes her lighter along with a cigarette out of the pocket of her red dress. She calmly lights it up, as the Aussie marches up to Chelsea, looking at her straight in the eye.

“Why me?” Lottie asks her, defiant. “You could’ve said something about anyone. It’s so clear you have it out of me, so just say so.”

Minni looks at her under her long eyelashes as she brings the cig to her red lips, whose color hasn’t smudged a bit despite all of the drinking. “It’s so hard to be you, innit?” she comments, ironically.

“Ugh!” the girl replies, getting angrier because of her intrusion. “Of course you have to be all sarcastic about it, Minerva.”

The blue-eyed girl shrugs, lukewarm, and takes a puff of smoke. She exhales then, a white cloud slowly exiting her mouth, and leans back onto her seat, almost as if she was provoking Lottie. If the right buttons are pushed in the young woman, she can be really irritating if she wants to, and having Lottie not only let her down but also threaten her good time with Chelsea has brought her bad side to surface, alcohol taking part in obliterating all of her filters. She’s not even considering holding back.

The Aussie grits her teeth. “Mind me? I’m trying to speak _serious_ business with Chelsea.”

Minni raises her eyebrow. “And I’m trying to get some _drinks_ with Chelsea,” she says, mockingly.

Now noticing the kind of drama that is unfolding in front of her, Chelsea risk a nervous glance in Minni’s direction, not knowing how to react or if she even should take part on it.

When she sees what she’s doing, Lottie frowns. “You know what? Ignore her. Look at me. Why me?” she presses.

Behind her, someone clears their throat.

“Is it a bad time?” Marisol asks, appearing next to the table.

“Not at all,” Minni smiles, tipsy. “My girls and I here were having a great time. We were chatting about how important _Girl Code_ is, weren’t we?”

Enraged, Lottie purses her lips together. Marisol scans the scene, perplexed and not knowing exactly what’s going on, before grabbing Minni’s hand.

“Well, I was actually hoping I could steal you away, Minni,” the Spanish girl says. “And finally give these poor guys a chance to talk to Chelsea.”

She looks over at the boys, who remain standing nearby, glancing over with eager expressions.

“I’m not done here,” Lottie growls, her green eyes digging holes on the two girls.

Without acknowledging her, Minni stands up. Instead of answering, she hands her empty glass to Lottie, who takes it perplexed.

“Well, I am,” the brunette says and puts out her cigarette in the top of the table. Enthusiastically, she takes a strong grip on Chelsea’s hand. “Let’s go, babes! You just arrived and I reckon you deserve to have a good time.” With that, she pulls her new friend towards the pool. Hand-in-hand, both start running and jump at the same time, fully clothed and creating a huge splash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we finally have our girl Chelsea in the Villa.｡.:*☆ so yeah, Minni is angry at Gary and Lottie, poor Gary is so confused and baker boi Bobby is developing a crush on his bff :o who would've thought ;) i'll try to get the next chapter asap so i don't leave you all hanging for too long✿


	10. Day 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even when the situation is not the best, the attraction they feel towards each other is undeniable, being so clear that it’s almost uncomfortable because none of them know if the other feels the same, and both are quite good at disguising it in fear of being rejected or messing up their friendship, which is the only excuse they have to maintain some sort of close contact. Minni is not sure if she should put a barrier for once and all, considering that, deep inside, she wants him out of all the guys in the Villa. She wants him and can’t take it anymore because she is still convinced that he fancies Lottie more than anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello babes.｡.:*☆ i know i promised this chapter wouldn't take too long but it happened anyway hehe♥ i hope you like where this is going so far :3 enjoy!

**Day 11**

**In the bedroom – Morning.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUNDa7TyGJ4)**

With a thumping headache, Minni wakes up to find herself almost without bedsheets, all of them huddled between Bobby’s arms. Lying on her stomach, she cranes her head upwards to see that the lights are on already and that the bedroom is almost empty, with the exception of Hope, who has her head placed on Noah’s lap, and Gary, who is stirring on his bed, his bulky muscles bulging as he does so.

Last night, Minni and Chelsea managed to revive the party somehow, and most of the Islanders ended up joining in. They danced in the pool until late hours, and soon there was just Bobby, new arrivals Chelsea and Jakub, Hope and Minni to keep it going. The brunette doesn’t remember much, but she surely recalls Bobby tipsily baking delicious late-snacks for them to share: chocolate-chip cookies. She hopes there are still some in the kitchen.

The girl hums in her throat and shifts on the mattress. Clumsily, she grabs the blankets that are supposed to be hers and pulls them with a slight motion, trying not to disturb Bobby’s sleep in the process. Despite being as careful as she can, she ends up waking him up anyways.

“Stop wiggling, Minerva,” the Scottish mutters with a raspy voice, his mouth stuck to the pillow and eyes tightly shut.

“You took all the blankets,” she mumbles back. “I’m cold.”

After that, he perks up and gives her the blankets, his eyelids half closed, “Sorry, shortcake.”

Minni quickly sinks into the warmth of the covers and responds with a growl, not having the energy to say proper words. She doesn’t usually have hangovers, but last night apparently went out of hand and now she’s stuck with this intense headache, sluggishness and dehydration. It was worth it, in her opinion, because Jakub and Chelsea deserved a proper welcome party instead of all the drama that threatened to overshadow their first night at the Villa.

“You two sound chipper,” Noah jokes from his bed. Since she hears him speak, Hope groans with her face stuck to his leg and only shuts up once he starts petting her hair. Apparently, she’s also trying to recover from last night’s carousal.

“I guess the afterparty turned out to be proper wild last night,” Gary comments, trying to start a conversation. Along with Lottie and with the intention to make her company, he went to bed kind of early, but he did hear Minni offering more drinks in Romanian when he was trying to fall asleep in the bedroom, so he guessed the party was still pretty much alive by that time. He found it well funny, “What a great way to welcome the new people.”

Hope just hums in response.

Next, Bobby sits in the bed. “It was, indeed. But it’s time to get up,” he says, rubbing his eyes and sounding more enthusiastic now. “Good morning, world!”. He stretches his arms energetically and turns to look at Minni, who is lying beside him with one of her legs sticking out in his direction. “Let’s go, Mins,” the pastry chef shakes her slightly. “I can’t go and make breakfast without my other half of Dick.”

Gary stifles a laugh at his wording.

“That did not sound good,” Noah chuckles.

Because of the feeling of a pair of hands moving her body, Minni growls again, her headache increasing as she props herself upwards with her elbows. She looks at Bobby dead in the eye. “This other half of Dick is dead to the world,” she mumbles dramatically, her cobalt eyes barely open.

Her partner smiles. “Oh, come on,” he insists, shaking her more. “I know you’re made of stronger stuff.”

She grins at his attempts, but doesn’t move. To try and calm the vague pain inside her head, she buries her face in her pillow again, her chocolate brown hair splayed around her and forming delicate waves.

“Come on,” Bobby repeats, grabbing her calf with the intention of pulling her out of the bed. Out of nowhere, his eyes go wide and stops in his tracks. “Whoa,” he gasps.

“What?” Minni asks, looking at him again.

“Your legs are so smooth,” he responds, amazed almost in a child-like way. This doesn’t help at all with the small crush he started having on her.

The girl raises her eyebrows, confused.

From a bed near theirs, Gary smiles sweetly as he lays on his side. “Mate, I know!” he agrees, recalling the smoothness of her skin against his during the only night they got to share a bed. “They’re really soft.”

The crane operator thinks he knows Minni pretty well already and is used to her lighthearted reactions and kind nature, so he expects to hear a soft giggle of hers or, if he’s lucky, to receive a cheeky compliment back. This is why he feels bummed out when the girl completely disregards his words, like if she didn’t hear him say anything. He keeps smiling anyway, convincing himself that there’s nothing to be worried about.

“They’re like... they feel like...” Bobby trails off in the meantime, deep in thought.

“They feel like a soft marshmallow,” Gary compliments, sincerely, his smile not fading yet.

Still not looking at him or answering directly, Minni shifts a little. She’s not using a silent treatment towards Gary to make him feel bad; it’s nearly the opposite of that. She is still trying to figure out how she feels about the situation of his kiss with Lottie and, most importantly, how she _should_ feel, and because she knows that it’s difficult for her to express herself when her negative emotions come to surface, she prefers to keep quiet and ignore his existence instead of imploding right in his face and being mean to him. Minni doesn’t want to end up scorching him with words just like she did with Rocco.

Just then Gary considers that she could still be angry at him for yesterday’s reveal. His first thought is to believe that she’s just being difficult and making a big deal out of nothing, just like he did himself in the bedroom last night, but soon realizes that the misunderstanding is mainly his fault, because Minni has always trusted him to be clear with her. Now he knows that is up to him to make it right, but doesn’t know exactly how. Maybe he is doomed to Rocco’s fate: being called out and then avoided and neglected by her. Either way, he appreciates her not making a scene about it like Lottie did last night.

“Yeah! Gary’s right,” Bobby exclaims in an attempt to bring some of Minni’s attention to his mate. He notices right away that she is ignoring him big time; he just said the nicest thing to her and she didn’t even bat an eye. The Scottish wonders if she got bitter because of his thing with Lottie. He finds it painful to witness. “Your skin is like a fluffy marshmallow,” he nudges Minni, managing to make her smile.

As the pastry chef keeps nudging her playfully, she chuckles, seeming to take the compliment but evidently not wanting to acknowledge Gary just yet. The blond man winces slightly, but keeps his cool.

“Because they’re really light and soft,” Bobby continues, taking the opportunity to lighten her mood. “And they melt easily, just like you.”

“Hey!” Minni perks and shoves him away, laughing.

Noah cackles at the scene, as he keeps petting Hope’s hair. It looks like she’s fast asleep now.

“Just saying,” Bobby raises his palms. The girl throws a pillow at him. “You melt faster than marshmallows by the fire, you melty-melt.”

“Shut up,” she giggles, throwing another pillow. Then, she finally climbs out of bed, her limbs feeling extra sore from too much dancing. “Okay, you made it. You managed to get me out of bed,” she grumbles, faking being mad at her partner.

The sunlight today seems to be particularly bright and hurts Minni’s eyes straight away, perhaps more because of her hangover, so she squints until she finds one of her many pairs of sunglasses in her night table. She puts them on and plaits her hair a little, trying to look presentable, or at least decent.

Bobby smiles at her, spirited. “Let’s go then! This half of Dick is starving!” he says.

Together, the pair starts walking towards the door. Before getting out, Minni notices that Noah is awake and watching them go, so she waves at him as a way to say good morning. He smiles and nods, silent as always. Then, the brunette avoids looking at Gary, who is still lying on his side and also looking at them, clear blue and confused eyes following her in particular. She hopes he doesn’t notice her brief glance at him thanks to the sunglasses shielding her eyes.

“You think I could drink some vodka for breakfast?” Minni asks Bobby while they get closer to the door.

“Don’t you even think about it,” he nags her as they exit the bedroom. “I’ll force you have a healthy breakfast, missy.”

**Spanish Hills – Evening.**

The breeze is slightly cold as Minni strolls out onto a moonlit hilltop. A single table and two chairs have been set up for her date with new boy Jakub. The girl smooths her translucent black top while she looks around. A little far away, Chelsea and Lucas take their seats at a table of their own. The blonde leans forward, nodding and laughing enthusiastically. Closer to where Minni is, Jakub is sitting at the table, his shirt buttons straining against his muscles; he looks even paler in the moonlight. The brunette greets him and then sits down in front of him.

She was surprised this morning when he decided to choose her for a date. He was indecisive between her and Priya, and deep inside Minni pleaded to the forces of the universe that he would choose Priya— but no, he decided to go with her even when she had practically avoided his eye and not said a word to him as he tried to make up his mind. The Cantabrigian doesn’t fancy him at all, but is willing to try to get to know him and will try her best in this date. Hopefully he has some hidden depths.

“I feel like you’re the sort of girl who puts in the work to look good. Makeup and stuff,” he comments as soon as she sits down. “That’s a good thing though. I make an effort, so I expect a girl to do the same, you know?”

Minni raises an eyebrow, “Well, I make an effort when I want to.”

“I just think if you’re gonna make an effort, it might as well be in the Love Island Villa. Or on a date,” he sighs. The girl doesn’t exactly know what he means. Is he trying to say that she looks bad right now? Before she can answer, he’s speaking again already, while he pats at his hair as if to check it’s in place. “Gotta be on form, look my best. Can’t leave the house without ironing my shirt. You know how it is.”

“Do you iron your socks, too?” she jokes with a cheeky smile.

Jakub frowns, kind of confused. “Yeah? Why do you ask?”

Minni chuckles, at first thinking that he’s joking, but when she notices that he is genuinely confused, she realizes he’s actually not. Before she can make fun of it, two large sangrias are brought to their table. After the waiter sets the drinking glasses in front of them, Jakub looks at the dark red liquid and then at his white jeans. He takes a careful sip, next places the glass back on the table and leans back with a sigh of relief. This is definitely not of Minni’s liking, just because she likes simple people who care more about enjoying the moment rather than how the look while doing it.

“Gotta love a good Shangri-La,” he says with a grin.

“You mean sangria, babes?” Minni asks, sweetly and with a giggle.

“That’s what I said,” the man replies, confident.

The blue-eyed girl shakes her head with a smirk, “You called it Shangri-La.”

“Yeah? We’re both saying the same thing,” he shrugs, dismissive.

By this moment, Minni is starting to sense that the date is getting weird. Or, most clearly, that this guy Jakub is weird. She doesn’t know if his humor is extremely ironic or if he’s just dumb. Because of this, she decides to follow along, in order to have some fun and figure out how far she can push it. If he’s being ironic, two can play the game.

“Oh, sure,” she grins, mischievous. “I love Shangri-La, but I’d rather drink El Dorado or Themiscyra. Have you ever tried them?”

To her surprise, Jakub nods confidently. “Of course, they’re lush,” he states and takes another cautious sip.

The physics student opens her eyes slightly wide. Now she doesn’t know if she’s the one messing with him, or if it’s the other way around. She fights off a smile and brings the drinking glass to her lips quietly.

“You’re a little bit extra, aren’t you? You’re always the one everyone is all over,” Jakub says, breaking the silence. “Personally, I’m not sure the reason why.”

Minni knits her eyebrows together and is about to reply with a sharp comment when he cuts her off.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. You’re fit and all. It’s just, after watching the show, I got curious because every lad in here seems to fancy you, but I didn’t see anything too special. Part of why I wanted this date with you, to be honest, is to see what all the fuss is about,” he smiles.

“Are… are you bantering, mate?” she asks, mildly offended by his words.

“No, I’m being serious here,” Jakub says, seeming to be unaware of how rude he sounded. He grins at her amiably. “For me, being extra enough is what makes one special, so I came up with this test question.”

Minni almost chokes with her sangria. “A… test question?” she blinks, puzzled. “Mate, I didn’t realize this was an exam.”

“Just a bit of fun, innit?” he answers, his smile not fading.

More perplexed than before, the young woman takes a while to answer. There’s something that tells her that he doesn’t have bad intentions and that he’s not trying to hurt her feelings, he just completely lacks self-awareness, apparently. Although she obviously doesn’t feel any connection to him whatsoever and because she’s in here to have fun, after all, Minni decides to follow his game to see if she can mess with him a little and hopefully make fun of it later. At least the public watching will have a good laugh about this mess of a date.

“Alright. Shoot.”

Jakub grins, genuinely happy, “Okay, so, say you could have one superpower, right? What superpower would you have?”

“Um… I don’t know,” she says, supporting her head with her palm and calmly putting her elbow on top of the table. “I reckon having superspeed would be fun. To run away from bad dates without anyone noticing, you know,” she offers him a smile, which widens when she notices he didn’t take the hint. “Or maybe flying.”

“Yeah, I reckon flying’s a little bit extra,” the bodybuilder answers. “You’d be the only one who’d be able to do it. Except for, like, penguins,” he adds, deep in thought.

Minni bites her tongue and holds back a chuckle, “Oh, totally. Penguins need to fly from one continent to another for their seasonal migration.”

“Exactly,” he replies. “Anyway, you passed my test.”

The girl sighs in fake relief, “I’m glad. I usually do well in tests, I didn’t want to disappoint.”

In that moment, Jakub seems to remember something. Suddenly, his attention is really focused on her, which takes her by surprise, “Speaking of that, you’re studying, like, space stuff, right?”

“Yeah, space stuff,” Minni repeats. She has started to enjoy this chat way more than she should, and now that she can get physics and astronomy into the mix, this could get even more fun for her, “You know anything about that?”

Confidently, Jakub sit straighter on the chair. He puffs his chest and grins, smug, “Well, personally, I’ve been noticing gravity since I was very young, you know, so I think I understand space very well.”

His phrase takes the air out of Minni’s lungs, and not in a good way. She can barely breathe as she avoids erupting into laughter. The girl doesn’t know what’s going on in this guy’s head, but oddly she’s loving it so far. She can’t wait to tell Bobby about this.

“I investigated a little myself before coming here and I wanted to share an idea with you,” the man states.

“That’s sweet,” she responds, leaning forward and really meaning it. “Go on.”

With a short nod, Jakub starts speaking, “So, I think it’s time for humanity to reach the Solar System for once and all, you know what I mean? I don’t understand why scientists aren’t exploring Mars already, if it looks dead easy.”

 _What the hell_ , Minni thinks as he talks. This is not the hidden depths she was expecting to find in this guy. It’s better, she reckons— it’s far more entertaining. She keeps quiet and tries to listen politely. Maybe she can even explain some things to him so he understands better what he’s talking about.

“What I’m trying to say is that I have seen pictures where there are canals in Mars, so there must be water,” Jakub continues, an analytic expression on his face.

Minni grins, “Oh, those canals are—"

“If there’s water, that means there’s oxygen,” he goes on, not letting her speak just yet. “If oxygen, that means we can breathe,” he finishes his idea with a smirk, proud of himself. “I thought you could bring that idea to your university to get things going. You’re welcome.”

Somewhat amused by his confidence, Minni opens her mouth to reply and explain everything that was wrong in his reasoning, but ends up closing it before a word can escape her mouth. From what she’s seen on this date, she reckons it’s useless to talk sense to him. This man’s brain must be the size of an atom, but he’s overall harmless.

“Thank you, I’ll make sure to tell my teachers about it,” she smiles and takes a sip of her sangria.

He smiles back. There’s an awkward silence for a moment, until he sighs, “Another thing, though. I’m looking for someone who really knows what she wants, who doesn’t let other people get in the way. I haven’t seen anything of that in you on TV so far, so I thought I might as well ask you if you reckon you’re a bit like that?”

The comment causes Minni’s mood to go down a little, because it reminds her that she didn’t pick the guy she truly fancies at the Recoupling. She lets out a small breath, “Um… no, I’m more of a team player.”

“I thought so,” Jakub purses his lips. Another awkward silence takes place as he sips his sangria, “Here’s a question. What’s your first impression of me? Like, what would you say I’m about, so far?”

The Cantabrigian takes a second to think, because she doesn’t want to hurt his feelings by saying something mean, “You’re nice and all, but… mate, you iron your socks.”

When hearing her response, Jakub raises an eyebrow, “That’s the kind of guy the girls want, in my experience. A guy who irons his socks, never skips leg day and always remembers to wipe down the bar after he’s used it. That gives you BDE.”

“As in Bond Dissociation Enthalpy?”

“Nah, like, Big Dick Energy,” he grins, self-righteous. When he notices that Minni is not amused, his smile deflates a little.

The two of them sit quietly for a moment, listening to the breeze blowing through the grass. Without having anything else to do besides sipping her sangria and looking at the landscape, Minni soon finishes her glass. She pouts, not knowing what else to distract herself with. In the meantime, Jakub raps his fingers against the table.

After a while, he leans back, twisting the stem of his glass, “So how do you think this went then, as far as first dates go?”

Minni tries for her sarcastic nature not to show, but words spill out of her mouth before she can contain herself, “Amazingly. I’ve had a great time so far.” She tries to maintain a smile to seem believable, so Jakub doesn’t feel too bad about it.

Contrary to what she expected from him, which was him not understanding sarcasm and replying with an overly confident quote, she sees him cringe, “Yeah, it was alright, wasn’t it?”

“C’mon. You don’t sound that excited,” she pouts in fake sadness. She is now surprised it took him his long to realize how awkward everything had been between the two, “We even talked about penguins and space stuff.”

“Well, it’s just a date,” he shrugs. “I haven’t made up my mind yet, but we’re kind of different people, aren’t we?”

Minni sighs with frustration, “We are, babes. Like the two sides of Gliese 581-c.”

He nods, not understanding but kind of getting the idea. “Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself though,” he offers her a strained smile.

As she attempts to smile back, the younger girl spies Chelsea and Lucas getting up from their table. The blonde girl hugs him happily; they must have had a nice date, Minni thinks. Internally, she sighs of relief because it seems that her and Jakub ran out of time, too. Although she had a fun time messing with this gigantic man dressed in tight white clothing, and laughed on the inside after listening to his wacky beliefs, she can’t wait to go back to the Villa.

**In the kitchen – Evening.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06k5XN78OP0)**

The sun has just sat and Gary and Bobby are alone in the kitchen. The bulky crane operator is shirtless and still wearing his navy-blue swimming suit, his optical glasses resting on the top of his head as he makes himself a cuppa, while the Scottish is wearing one of his usual patterned shirts with his apron over it. He’s making pancakes, his deft fingers mixing various extra ingredients on a frying pan.

For Bobby, it’s nice to have a bit of relaxation time after spending most of his day trying to fix yesterday’s drama so everyone in the Villa gets along. Him and Marisol teamed up and got the girls talking again, and also managed to kind of appease the consequences of Operation Nope. The only thing they couldn’t tackle was the underlying tension between Minni and Lottie, mostly because of the physics student evident silent treatment towards both her and Gary. In the end, Bobby decided to give Minni some time before trying again.

“So, how are things going with Lottie so far?” Bobby asks Gary, attempting to establish a candid conversation.

The Chathamite takes a sit on a stool nearby, a recently made cup of tea cradled between his paw-like hands. He exhales. “We’re trying to make it work, I guess,” he responds, not giving too much away.

“What do you mean by that?” his freckled friend asks, curious.

“Exactly that,” Gary shrugs, running his hand over the side of his pale locks. “We were not completely compatible from the get-go, but I think we could… work on that. She picked me so I have to give her a chance,” he tries to explain, awkwardly. “For now it’s just… exhausting, this whole drama thing.”

Bobby nods, “Yeah. Especially yesterday. It almost went out of hand.”

The blond hums in his throat in agreement, eyes fixed on the counter. He scratches the back of his head, “The way she came at Chelsea right after… not my thing, if I’m honest.”

Suddenly, the enormous doors of the Villa creek open and Jakub, Minni, Chelsea and Lucas enter the place. The girls chat enthusiastically as they remain standing near the door. Their giggles can be heard from the kitchen, making the two boys turn their attention to them. Chelsea’s short champagne colored onesie, which hugs all of her curves, catches Gary’s eye immediately, but quickly his gaze goes to the younger brunette next to her, who is also all dolled up. Because of this, he inevitably scans Minni up and down briefly, practically not believing how attractive she looks. Soon, the man feels kind of guilty to be checking her out like this when she’s so clearly still pissed off at him.

Then, Gary sighs trembly, choosing to look down at his cuppa instead, “She hates me now, doesn’t she?”

Quite surprised by the emotion in his comment, Bobby turns around from the frying area to face him. He knows perfectly who is the muscular man referring to. “I don’t think so, man. She’s just mad,” the honey-colored eyed man says, sincerely. “I can’t see her actually hating you. I mean, she hasn’t slandered you like she did with Rocco.”

The other boy swallows nervously and clenches his jaw at the eerie possibility of receiving one of Minni’s scolds, “Yet.”

Shaking his head, his older friend flips the pancake on the frying pan and leaves it to cook, so he can pay full attention to the conversation. “She won’t,” he calmly reassures. He makes a pause to think before continuing. “Look, Big G. I know Minni might look very unapproachable when she’s upset, but as far as I know, she really appreciates it when you take the time to ask her what’s going on or how she feels, and, in your case, to explain what happened. That’s how Rocco managed to kind of fix the situation, anyway,” Bobby states. Next, he turns around to get the pancake out of the pan and serves it neatly on a plate, on top of a bunch of them. “We both know her. Although she’s very empathetic and sentimental, she won’t _ever_ pull you for a chat or approach you herself to solve the problem,” he continues while skillfully putting chocolate sauce, cream and strawberries over the pile of pancakes. “That girl is stubborn as a mule, and oddly that’s one of the things I adore about her,” the Scottish ends up chuckling lightly.

At the thought of Minni’s personality, Gary smiles softly. Thanks to his mate, now he feels a little more hopeful about the situation.

All of the sudden, Bobby’s eyes seem to glow under the cold lights of the kitchen. A smirk forms in his lips, an idea on how to fix the last bit of tension in the Villa coming to his mind. “You know what? I’ll give you a hand, pal,” he says, confident. Without waiting for Gary’s answer, he puts his hands around his mouth and yells loudly, “Minerva!”

The blond’s eyes open wide, his stomach flipping inside of him. “Bobby,” he murmurs through gritted teeth, nervous and his sight avoiding the entrance of the Villa, where Minni turns around with a raised eyebrow, curious.

“Shhh, I’m doing you a favor. Trust me,” Bobby whispers back, sneaking a mischievous wink at him.

“What?” the freckled girl asks from where she’s standing, quite perplexed.

“Come here! I made you a snack!” her Scottish partner states. Despite having been making pancakes to vent his potential crush on her, he has decided to give them a better use and turn them into an excuse to make her come to the kitchen.

“Really?” the brunette asks, her light vocals sounding cheerful.

“Yeah! Get here before it gets soggy!”

Not knowing what Bobby’s plan is, less where this is going or how it could end up, Gary lets out a puff of air, his gaze fixed on the dark tea inside his cup. He doesn’t know what to do, so he stays still, almost paralyzed, as he hears Minni’s high platforms approaching.

“What did you make, Bobbers?” she asks with a sincere smile.

The pastry chef smiles genuinely and subtly guides her to sit on a stool near Gary. Next, he makes a motion with his hands to present the snack he’s just made, “I call these ones ‘Love Island’s Peacecakes’.”

After hearing the odd name, Minni giggles, her eyes marveling at how delicious the dish looks. She surely needed a kind gesture like this after this evening’s disaster date, “Interesting.”

With a smile plastered on his face, Bobby puts the plate opposite Gary and, before taking a seat next to Minni, acts like he’s just realized something. “Oh, crap. Or I should say, ‘oh, crêpe’,” he jokes. Then, he facepalms and pretends to be extremely worried. “I think I left my clothes in the bathroom again. I bet Rahim will end up drenching them when he goes into shower!” Not clarifying it more, he turns to kiss Minni’s temple rapidly, “I’ll catch you later. Enjoy your pancakes!”

With that, the honey-eyed Scottish rapidly sprints towards the bedroom. Once he disappears, a sudden tension can be felt in the quiet air of the kitchen, amongst the templated temperature of the Spanish dusk. Seconds pass as Minni stays still, waiting for her partner to return, her delicate frame glued to the same spot she’s been sitting on and absentmindedly picking at her pancakes with a fork, while Gary silently sips his cuppa in front of her. Both pairs of different-shaded blue eyes avoid contact at all times, whereas each one of them deals with his own thoughts about what went down yesterday.

After several minutes, Gary finally gathers enough courage to speak. “Minni?” he asks, his voice deep and hesitant.

The young woman blinks, clearly surprised by hearing him breaking the silence, but that doesn’t necessarily make her look at him directly, “Huh?”

“Would you chat with me for a bit, about the kiss Chelsea mentioned last night?” the muscular man asks, cautious. “I… I’d like to explain what happened.”

Minni sighs, not feeling ready for this conversation. “Mate, I—” she shakes her head. “I don’t know, honestly. I’m still upset.”

“I know,” Gary says with a soft tone. “That’s why I want to talk about it.”

It just takes one second of their sights finally meeting for Minni not being able to bring herself to look away. As always, she sees raw honesty in the blond man’s eyes, making most of her anger at him vanish in an instant, nearly causing her to wish it would be easier to be mad at him. She just can’t reject him when he’s looking at her like _that_ , but what she can do is maintain her distance through a cold semblance.

“Go ahead.”

“Right,” the crane operator begins. He takes a deep, shaky breath and rubs the back of his neck before starting. “I never meant to make you feel that I was playing you. That was never my intention. It’s just… I reckon I didn’t handle things well cos was under a lot of pressure and felt like a mess during those days,” he confesses. “First Priya taking me away from you, then having to pick between Hannah and Marisol, things not working with Marisol after all, the whole Rocco thing and having to watch you getting hurt, next two new boys coming in— my head was all over the place,” he continues. “I was still trying to figure out who I liked, who I trusted, and this bloody kiss in was the middle.” The Chathamite exhales and does his best to try and maintain eye contact with her icy stare. “If I’m honest, I didn’t think it was important enough to bring it up. It was a peck, Minni.”

“Chelsea said the word ‘snog’,” the physics student points out, being stubbornly resistant on believing his intentions just yet.

“It was a _peck_ ,” Gary clarifies, his voice being honest and, most of all, determined.

Right now, he feels completely exposed to Minni, especially once he notices her ocean orbs analyzing his face, like if she is trying to figure out whether he’s lying or not. There’s just quietness before the young brunette speaks again, her cold walls still up and preventing him to know how upset she is feeling now.

“How did it happen, then?” she questions.

With a sigh, the bulky crane operator adjusts the glasses on top of his light hair. “Right after the first Recoupling, Rahim found me and told me Lottie had locked herself into the bathroom and that she was crying because I got Hannah dumped. So I went there and tried to talk things with her, to see if I could make her feel better. She got really defensive at first and we argued, but then I apologized and she looked a little less angry,” he puts his head down. “And next thing I know she’s kissing me.”

As he explains, Minni slowly feels her distant front fragmenting. Her gaze softens at the sight of him looking frankly bashful because of the situation.

Gary blinks a couple of times, before his muscular chest raises while he breathes deeply, “I returned the kiss for, like, a second, because I was worried that she could get angrier if I pulled away. But then I pulled back anyway and… it got awkward. It was a complete disaster and I didn’t know what to do, so I got out of there and went right to sleep.”

When he finishes, the blue-eyed girl only keeps quiet, mostly trying to sort her emotions rather than processing the new information. As soon as she feels prepared enough, she parts her lips to speak.

“Honestly, I’m not fuming about you kissing her, Gary,” she begins. “I get it, it was early days and all. We all were still trying to figure out who we liked and so on. Even I kissed Rocco right after we recoupled, to see if I felt something,” the Cantabrigian says. “What upsets me is that next day you kissed _me_ and didn’t even say a word about your thing with Lottie.” With a disappointed look in her eyes and a disconcerted expression, she shakes her head and pouts slightly. “And then Rocco played me and you still weren’t honest with me. None of you two said anything to me and you were supposed to be my best mates here.”

Feeling what he could only call a reflection of her discouragement settling right in the middle of his chest, Gary walks around the counter and sits on a stool at her side, attempting to be comforting, “Minni, I didn’t mean to keep things secret from you. That kiss was… it was nothing for me, really. That’s why I looked straight at you when Chelsea mentioned some secret snog, cos our kiss at the gym was, well… a _kiss_.”

For some reason, the mention of that kiss in the gym brings Minni’s mood down. Strangely, she misses the first days at the Villa, despite the turmoil that they were— at least she got to kiss Gary like that.

While she looks down, the blond man continues talking, “I know not telling you wasn’t the best decision and that was what backfired pretty badly. I’m sorry for that.”

More than his sincere words, it’s the intention of making things right behind them that end up convincing Minni entirely, but she’s not able to shake off the feeling of discontent just yet. She brings her eyes back to his again and notices that Gary’s gaze hasn’t left her face this whole time.

“It’s fine, mate. Kisses could barely mean anything anyway,” she sighs, her tone quite pessimistic. “I’m frosty because both of you kept things from me. When Chelsea said that yesterday, I felt like… like you and Lottie had been doing stuff behind my back. I know that you can crack on with whoever you want, but… I was in a bad place and I really needed people to be sincere with me and not mess with my feelings like Rocco did.”

“I was not messing with your feelings, love,” Gary tells her. “Minni, I—”

“It’s okay, Gary. Really,” the girl interrupts, not wanting to dig deeper into the situation, less bringing up the topic of his current relationship with Lottie. “You two are happily coupled up now, so it’s fine.”

“ _Happily,_ ” the crane operator says to himself, shaking his head shortly.

“Huh?”

“I— nevermind.”

After that awkward bit, a silence forms between the two. Even when the situation is not the best, the attraction they feel towards each other is undeniable, being so clear that it’s almost uncomfortable because none of them know if the other feels the same, and both are quite good at disguising it in fear of being rejected or messing up their friendship, which is the only excuse they have to maintain some sort of close contact. Minni is not sure if she should put a barrier for once and all, considering that, deep inside, she wants him out of all the guys in the Villa. She wants _him_ and can’t take it anymore because she is still convinced that he fancies Lottie more than anyone else. Now she doesn’t know what to do and blurts out the best option she can think of.

“Let’s just put this behind us and be mates again. I hate drama,” she states.

An emotion she can’t identify flickers in Gary’s crystal blue eyes. “ _Mates_ ,” he repeats with a sigh, letting the word sink in. After this conversation, he knows it’s best not to tell her that he fancies her right away; it would be like throwing a bomb, especially when he just managed to fix yesterday’s misunderstanding. Gary decides that he can live with just a friendship with her for now.

Minni notices a small change in his expression, almost as if the word is uncomfortable for him. All of a sudden, she recalls what Chelsea told her last night in the middle of the party, but she’s not sure if she remembers it right. _He’s totally into you_ , the words resonate in her head. _Believe me, he’s smitten_. The brunette doubts, because in her opinion, everything else seems to be pointing towards the opposite direction. Besides, she always has mental gaps after drinking too much.

“Yeah, mates. Because that’s what we were… right?” she hesitates, testing the waters.

Just as unsure and indecisive, Gary opens his mouth to speak and then closes it again. “We, um… yeah, of course,” he responds, running a hand through the short hair at the side of his head. “Mates.”

For some reason, this final relief of tension causes Minni’s barriers to go down and she can’t hold back anymore. Without warning, she throws herself into Gary’s arms and hugs him tightly by the waist. A small laugh escapes his throat because of the surprise, but he is glad to accept her gesture and, in no time, engulfs her back with his big arms.

When she feels ready, the girl starts talking again, hiding her face in his broad chest. “I’m sorry for being so dismissive today. I was so angry and I was scared of overreacting or being rude to you without meaning it,” she confesses, ashamed. “I’m not used to this kind of drama or this much pressure.”

Minni can feel the vibration of a chuckle across Gary’s chest. “Mate, no worries. I get that you needed some distance. I don’t hold it against you,” he says, placing his chin on top of her head. “If any, I was worried that you hated me.”

“I would have, but… I know that you are being honest with me… and that you _care_ ,” she looks up at him with a soft and sincere smile, and once he looks down to meet her eyes, their faces end up just inches away. And, like every time they are this close, the air around them seems to electrify. Quickly, Minni decides to break the atmosphere by joking a little. “Besides, you didn’t compare me to a hammock like Rocco did,” she cringes.

A giggle gets out of Gary’s mouth, his crystal eyes stuck in hers for a moment. He squeezes her tight between his arms before pulling away, when he reminds himself that they have recently agreed to be _mates_. “Let’s talk about some other things, yeah? I didn’t mean to get all serious on you,” he says.

Minni smiles, feeling comfortable with his request, and returns to eat her pancakes. “What should we talk about?”

“How about…” the blond thinks for a second. He casually picks up his still warm cuppa and brings it to his lips to take a sip. “Alright, you went on a date with new bloke Jakub today. How did it go?”

Unexpectedly, Minni erupts into laughter, almost choking on a strawberry. She covers her mouth with her hand and laughs for a good minute.

“What?” Gary asks. The girl’s laugh is quite contagious for him, so he ends up letting out a small chuckle.

“Best. Date. Ever,” she says once she is able to catch her breath.

The man’s eyes grow wider, confused. He swore the guy wasn’t Minni’s type at all. “R-Really? With him, and his stupid white trousers? Why?”

Leaning forward to get closer, Minni start explaining. “I’ll tell you why, Gar,” she says with a devilish smile. “First, he called sangria ‘Shangri-La’, then he told me men who iron their socks give ‘big dick energy’, and later he quizzed me to see if I was ‘extra’ enough to be coupled up with him,” the girl whispers to him. Conspiratorially, she leans even closer. “And he thinks penguins can fly.”

Gary stifles a laugh, not expecting that at all. That surely explains her laughing fit when he asked. “Oh, mate.”

The brunette goes back to her place and chews on a piece of a fluffy pancake. “He wasn’t exactly rude, you know. Like, he wasn’t outright disrespectful, but either way he said some weird things to me,” she continues with her mouth half-full. Gary loses his trail of thought for a moment, finding her to look adorable as she explains nonchalantly. Her eyes twinkle with the lights of the kitchen. “When he started explaining why he picked me for the date, he told me that he was _curious_ …” she makes a pause to emphasize that precise word. “…because every lad in here seems to fancy me—”.

“Well, he’s not wrong,” the blond interrupts, giving her a cheeky smile.

Minni can’t help but giggle at his comment. She can’t believe they’re back to their usual smooth talk in no time, and now that he’s with someone else she’s not sure how to deal with it. She tries not to think much of it, convincing herself that it’s just Gary’s flirty nature, just like hers; perhaps their cheekiness just makes a dangerous combination rather than being product of attraction, at least from his part.

“Slow down there, buckaroo,” she swats his arm before continuing. “So, he said that he was curious because on TV it looked like every guy in here fancied me, but he personally ‘didn’t see anything special in me’. He just wanted to see ‘what all the fuss was about’!” she finishes, making actual quotation marks with her fingers.

Gary gawks, not believing what he just heard. “You have to be bloody kidding me, Minerva.”

She simply shakes her head. “I swear.”

After picturing the awkwardness of the whole scene and imagining Minni’s face during the whole situation, the bulky man’s head falls back as he laughs loudly. His reaction makes the blue-eyed girl’s heart feel warmer, a light tingling of happiness showing in her eyes. She would be lying if she said that she didn’t miss talking to Gary like this, and even more making him laugh. She can’t help but chuckle, too, his cackles becoming contagious to her in some way.

“It’s been the most awkward, hilarious date I’ve ever been on,” the delicate young woman adds. “Thank god there was some good Shangri-La to cope with it.”

That last joke makes Gary burst into a short laugh again, clutching his side. After a few seconds, he intakes air and recomposes himself. “I don’t want to get in between the _beautiful_ thing you two have going on,” he begins, smirking. “But I have this _slight_ feeling that he’s not your type.”

Minni grins. “Oh, really?” she asks, tilting her head.

Gary fakes to be deep in thought as he takes the glasses off the top of his head and puts them on, acting intellectually, “I’d say you’re more into... simpler blokes.”

“You mean, simpler blokes with blond hair and tattoos, that wear the same flannel every single day?” she shoots back, without thinking too much. When she realizes what she just said, she takes some physical distance, playing it cool. _Nice one, Minerva_ , she scolds herself.

Gary’s heart skips a beat after hearing her response. _Don’t get ahead of yourself, lad_ , he reassures himself. _It’s just banter, she doesn’t really mean it like that_. He tries to keep the conversation going, because it would be worse to have a strange silence now. “You said it, not me,” he replies, showing his palms. Then, makes a pause and frowns, just now realizing the last bit of her sentence. “Wait, I don’t wear the s—". He stops complaining when he notices Minni giving him a fake menacing look, “Oh, nevermind.”

That makes the beautiful brunette genuinely giggle, glad that the situation didn’t turn into an unwanted direction. For now, she feels comfortable by having him in a mate-zone, as she tries to figure out what she actually feels about him. She reckons that since yesterday her feelings for him changed a little, but not the high level of attraction she senses. Despite this, she still doesn’t know if he feels something similar for her, and she’s not brave enough to ask— maybe asking Chelsea about that could solve her doubts. But, for now, Gary’s ever-flirting persona confuses Minni and having Lottie in the mix doesn’t help at all. Besides, they just started talking again, so it’s no time to take a bigger step. She considers that it would be safer to stick to Bobby for now, even if they’re on a friendship couple

Gary’s eyes never leave her, as she looks down at her almost empty plate, evidently thinking about something. Her expression is soft and calm, yet reflective and brooding.

“Good chat, Gar,” the freckled girl says after a while. Her gaze goes up, with her glossy lips forming a sincere but awkward smile. “Gotta go see if Bobby’s doing alright,” she stands up. “He has taken too long and I’m worried that he’s actually planning some kind of prank on me.”

“Sure,” the Chathamite responds with a smile, right before sipping his cuppa.

After that, Minni stands up graciously, adjusts her tight leather skirt and starts walking away. Unexpectedly, she makes a pause before leaving the kitchen, her big eyes finding his amongst the diming light of the kitchen area, “We could chat more later, yeah?”

A grin automatically stretches the humble crane operator’s bearded cheeks, “Of course, Mins. See ya.”

Returning the kind smile, Minni turns around and heads quietly to the bedroom. Meanwhile he watches her going away, Gary starts thinking that being just mates for now is not so bad, after all. Sure, he has been friendzoned several times before and is mildly scared that this could turn out to be just like that, but at the same time his gut tells him that there could still be something between them. He has high hopes that there could be some remnants of their brief fling at the beginning of all this. So, despite being mates for now, Gary reckons he could work from here and hopefully turn Minerva’s head.

**In the daybeds – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8fmOciEY8U)**

“I can’t believe it,” Bobby laughs, leaning back on the daybed. He puts his arms behind his head with a smile, while he chuckles at Minni’s story about her date fiasco.

The pastry chef feels more than content with how today has gone so far. After his plan of making Minni and Gary finally talk to each other worked, he achieved his ultimate goal of making peace at the Villa. Now he is lying on the daybeds looking at the star-filled night sky next to his apparent and recently discovered crush while having a candid talk, not caring too much if the calm atmosphere of the Villa is going to last, because he knows it’s impossible.

“I expected the new guy to be a bit of me, but no. At all,” Minni tells him, her eyes scrutinizing the sky as she looks for Ursa Minor. “There goes my chance of hooking up with someone new.”

“Are you really worrying about not being able to hook up, Minerva?” Bobby chuckles, turning to his side to face her.

The girl shrugs with a smile and does the same. “Well, yeah,” she responds. “This is Love Island and I feel that I haven’t kissed anyone in ages,” she mocks feeling bad about it with exaggeration.

After her lighthearted and naïve comment, there’s a brief silence. Bobby’s mind swirls as he tries to decide if this could be his chance to make a move or not. Unlike his usual behavior towards girls, he decides to risk it. He thinks that he knows Minni well, so he reckons that if he was ever to make a move that was not corresponded, both would just laugh about it and move on.

The brunette sees Bobby smile as he tries to meet her eyes. “We could, you know?” he asks, after a while.

Still staring at his honey-colored irises, she opens her eyes slightly wider. “What?”

“I mean, a few kisses won’t ruin a friendship, will they?” the boy shrugs, nonchalant.

Minni tries to contain a laugh at his bold suggestion. She thinks it’s just harmless banter, and kisses barely mean anything, as she said earlier. Even when she’s not sure if this could be a good opportunity to try something new at last and move on already, she decides to give it a go. She reckons none of the two is going to catch feelings after this. “True... besides, we’re technically coupled up.”

Right now, Bobby can’t believe it actually worked and his heart rate picks up in pace. With his smile growing, his sight shifts from her eyes to her lips. “So...”

“So...” the girl does the same, with a playful side smirk.

To avoid backpedaling, Bobby leans towards her as soon as he can, connecting their lips in an instant. Lying side by side, Minni’s hand goes up to cup his cheek as he guides him into the kiss. He’s not a bad kisser, honestly, but she doesn’t feel any spark or attraction by any means. It’s almost like if she was kissing a random stranger at a club or a uni party.

Kissing her slowly, Bobby starts questioning what they’re doing. He hoped to feel _something_ once their lips touched, a feeling similar to the one he started getting whenever he saw her since yesterday; the expected butterflies, some kind of nervousness and excitement, certain thrill. But no, there’s _nothing_ there and it confuses him the more he keeps kissing her— she’s hell of a good kisser, he notices. Even his heartbeat slows down, so he shifts uncomfortably in the bed. Maybe it’s the position they’re in, the Scottish tells himself.

He hears Minni giggle, her voice vibrating against his puffy lips.

“You’re crushing my arm,” she tells him, her eyes still closed

“Sorry,” Bobby replies, between kisses.

As they move to get comfortable again, Minni thinks of how weird the situation is. She lets out a nervous laugh, trying to relieve some tension.

“Shut up, we’re making out,” Bobby whispers to her in a nagging tone, but also being playful. He tells himself that possibly the feeling he is expecting could bloom out of nowhere if they kiss a little longer.

The girl holds back a chuckle and starts kissing him again. By this moment, Bobby can’t really take it anymore. Although Minni is one of the best kissers he’s encountered, his crush has just vanished like it never existed and it’s making him feel strange. Bloody hell, it feels like he is kissing a childhood friend.

Bobby pulls away and his eyes meet Minni’s as she opens her own slowly. They stare at each other, awkwardness crashing down strongly. They don’t know what to say, or what to do, or how to tell the other how _wrong_ that felt.

Without a single word, Minni shifts to lie on her back and glues her gaze to the stars, resuming her search for Ursa Minor in a desperate attempt to focus her mind on something else. Bobby does the same, not really knowing what he is looking at in the dark night sky. The light breeze of the night moves the bushes around them, the crickets chirp almost in a comical way, and none of them notice that Gary is staring in silence from the kitchen, trying to hide his shock as he makes himself another cuppa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly i felt bad when doing this to our beloved crane operator :c i'm so sorry you guys hehe. next chapter will take a little longer to get ready because it's a day from scratch, like an extra day, which takes place between Day 11 and Day 12 in the game✿ i'll call it "Day 11.5", so you guys know the events happen between those two days. believe me, this will become more of a rollercoaster than it already is✿✼:*ﾟ


	11. Day 11.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crane operator is standing in front of a full body mirror, all dressed up. The room is warm, with lots of windows and white curtains that flow with the light breeze. The scent of his minty bodywash is the only thing he can smell, like if he had showered recently. His beard is evenly trimmed and his spiky hair styled, things he doesn’t do unless it’s a special occasion. For now, the only thing he is able to focus on, asides from how tight the dress shirt feels against his neck and upper chest, is the twisting but exciting sensation making itself at home in his belly, similar to butterflies. He huffs again— he hates wearing dress shirts buttoned all the way up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again, beautiful people✿✼:*ﾟ i told you that it would take me a little longer to update, but here it is at last. as i mentioned in the previous chapter, this is an extra day, so the events happen between Day 11 and Day 12. i'll keep adding days like this when necessary, because there are challenges i wanted to include in this fic :3 i hope you have a good time reading♥ thanks for all the support, you guys are amazing.

**Day 11.5**

**At the lawn – Noon.**

Whispering can be heard from the bean bags as Minni saunters closer. Marisol and Hope are sitting closer to each other, talking in confidence, but they stop once they notice the sound of the younger girl’s light footsteps near them. Despite not having been able to hear them, the brunette already knows what they’re talking about. It turns out that her playful kiss with Bobby was seen practically in front row by Noah and Hope, who were hanging out in the roof terrace at that time. According to Priya, the dark-skinned girl was the one who spread the gossip across the Villa like wildfire, and now everyone thinks that Minni and Bobby are in a romantic couple.

As an amazing addition to this situation, since she woke up Minni has noticed that her partner has been rather distant. She doesn’t blame him— the ambience after the kiss was awkward, to say the least, but it had been also a game, meant to mean nothing. Or at least that’s what she thought. Now she’s worried that his strange behavior is because he caught feelings after that and suspects that Minni would never think of him as more than a friend; her best friend in here, actually.

For this reason, the girl has decided to put her doubts about Gary and her chat with Chelsea on the backburner for now, as she tries to figure out what is happening to Bobby. She has been pacing around the Villa looking for him, when she walks past the two girls.

“Hi babes, have you seen Bobby?” Minni asks, looking at them through a yellow pair of sunglasses.

“Aw, you two are so cute together,” Hope comments with a smirk. “And no, I haven’t seen him, hun.”

The Cantabrigian rolls her eyes at her first comment.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Marisol says, pulling another bean bag closer to them. “Come and chat with us. We want to know everything.”

Minni reluctantly lets herself fall on the beanbag, willing to clarify the situation. “There’s nothing to know. We’re _just friends_.”

“Well, in my opinion ‘just friends’ don’t kiss like that,” Hope snaps back.

With a defeated sigh, the physics student looks at her directly. “It was just a kiss,” she states once more. “We were bantering.”

“Whatever you say, babe,” Marisol shrugs. She leans back and shields her eyes from the sun, relaxed. “You know what I think? You two have always got along so well, you have the same type of humor and laugh at the same dumb things— you even cook together practically every day,” she declares. “You definitely click on the friendship aspect, and now it just looks like you’re clicking on another level too and don’t feel ready to admit it.”

By this point, the brunette knows it’s useless to repeat that she and Bobby are just friends, so just shakes her head lightly. She tries to distract herself as she stays in her place, because walking away right now would just make Marisol’s theory more believable.

While Minni tries to think of a way to let everyone know that Dick is not a romantic couple, her cobalt eyes scan the Villa. She sees Gary’s muscular body splayed across one of the daybeds, tangled between a bunch of bedsheets; she guesses that he fell asleep after having lunch. Next, she sees Lottie, Priya, Chelsea and Ibrahim in the kitchen, each one of them doing something different. In the other side of the Villa, at the gym, Jakub is lifting weights and Lucas is spotting Noah. There’s no signs of Bobby yet.

Suddenly, a shout from the outdoors kitchen can be heard. “Guys, I got a text!” Ibrahim yells.

After hearing him, the girls stand up and head there without exchanging any words. When most of the Islanders are reunited in the kitchen, the golfer starts reading out loud.

<Islanders, pucker up and get ready for one of the steamiest challenges of the season. The girl who gets rated the best kisser will be rewarded with a special gift tonight. #snogathon #usechapstick.>

“Another kissing challenge?” Lottie huffs. “Are you serious?”

“This will be interesting,” Marisol comments, raising an eyebrow.

A smile forms in Minni’s face; if there’s something she has experience in and enjoys doing is kissing, despite this being what brought her the trouble of people thinking she fancies Bobby. She doesn’t feel overly confident, but she knows that she’s definitely not a bad kisser, plus there’s already at least two boys in the Villa, Rocco and Gary, that have complimented her on it. Being this right up her alley, she hopes her simple skill can earn her the mysterious price, whatever it is.

**In the daybeds – Noon.**

“Ugh, why does this have to be so bloody tight?” Gary huffs, fumbling with the collar of a white dress shirt as he tries to loosen it up somehow.

The crane operator is standing in front of a full body mirror, all dressed up. The room is warm, with lots of windows and white curtains that flow with the light breeze. The scent of his minty bodywash is the only thing he can smell, like if he had showered recently. His beard is evenly trimmed and his spiky hair styled, things he doesn’t do unless it’s a special occasion. For now, the only thing he is able to focus on, asides from how tight the dress shirt feels against his neck and upper chest, is the twisting but exciting sensation making itself at home in his belly, similar to _butterflies_. He huffs again— he hates wearing dress shirts buttoned all the way up.

“Babes, it’s not the shirt’s fault that you have those pecs,” Chelsea giggles next to him. She’s all dressed up too, wearing a long light blue formal suit, her blonde hair up in a complicated braid. As she speaks, she keeps looking for something inside a big suitcase, which is placed next to the full-body mirror. “Besides, you can’t wear anything else for a wedding. It would be a crime not wearing your fanciest outfit.”

“Wedding?” Gary asks, a rush of confusion washing down on him.

Once again, he scans himself up and down in the mirror, his light blue eyes widening. Then, hears Chelsea let out an airy cackle next to him.

“You’re so funny,” she responds with a smile. “Oh, here it is!” She takes out a small box and opens it with an enthusiastic grin, a jet-black bowtie appearing between her fingers. The blonde girl wiggles it in the air as she trots closer to Gary. “Let’s get this done with. We’re gonna be late!” she exclaims.

Without waiting for a response, she gets in front of Gary and rapidly puts the bowtie around his neck, tying it expertly. Perplexed, he stares at her all the while across the mirror. The blonde man is so puzzled that he can’t grasp proper words to ask her what’s going on, or why he’s dressed up like this, or even why they’re in that situation at all.

“Come on, Gary. Everyone must be waiting for us!” the girl urges, smoothing the front of his dress shirt and throwing him a black jacket. “You don’t wanna be late to your own wedding, do you? Put that on and let’s go!”

A cold feeling rushes through Gary’s veins after hearing her last phrases. _My wedding?_ Dazed with shock, he puts on the jacket and Chelsea immediately pushes him outside the room, a huge beam in her face.

In no time, Gary finds himself standing under a beautiful isle adorned with light pink roses and fairy lights, a crowd of people sitting in white chairs in front of him. He sees his nan and his mom in the front row, wearing their fanciest attires, then all of his family in one side of the venue. He doesn’t know the rest of the guests, but he can spot Rahim, Priya, Lucas and Noah in the background. His best mate Dicky is right next to him— Gary guesses he’s his best man. When the blond catches his eye, his mate smirks and nudges his shoulder encouragingly. Gary, too nervous to respond or do anything else, turns his sight to the corridor in front of him, which is made of white and light pink petals and delimited by shimmery ribbon. His breathing quickens while he scans the entire place, rummaging in his memories to try and remember who the hell is he marrying and what could have caused this sudden mental gap.

A few seconds pass before a traditional wedding music starts playing, echoing and reverberating on the walls. A girl dressed in a fancy white wedding dress appears at the end of the corridor, arm in arm with none other than Bobby, who is wearing a formal traditional Scottish apparel. A white veil covers the girl’s face, so Gary can’t distinguish who it is just yet. He tries to look at signals in her way of walking, her figure, anything, but everything is blurry because he now realizes that he forgot to put on his contacts— he can barely see all of the sudden.

His vision gets more and more blurry until he can only see the first row of guests, Bobby and the bride, who walk closer and closer as the music resonates in the illuminated venue. Gary notices that the people he can see are witnessing the scene with huge smiles, clearly happy for the couple. His eyes go instantly to his nan, who is tearing up a little and drying her face with a tissue; he has never seen her cry before.

The music begins to lower in volume and, prior to Gary being able to register what is going on, Bobby and the girl have already arrived to the isle. The pastry chef whispers something to him before walking away to take place in the first row. Without being able to comprehend what he just said, because all of his senses are muffled now, Gary blinks a couple of times in confusion.

In complete silence, the girl stands in front of him, and his vision gets more and more blurry as time passes. He can barely see what’s in front of him, but he smells a sweet raspberry scent. _Minerva?_ , he thinks.

“Cat got your tongue?” he hears her whisper in a kind voice behind the veil, making him feel that his stomach is going to explode and butterflies are going to escape right from inside him.

“I— I…” he stutters, but no proper words come out.

Being her usual self, she simply chuckles at his response. “It’s alright. I’m nervous too,” she admits quietly, so none of the guests can hear them.

The crane operator smiles, a wave of relief washing down all over him. He doesn’t care that he can’t see, that he can barely hear what’s happening on his surroundings. He feels safe somehow, despite all of this. “Are we—?" he starts asking, but gets interrupted by an authoritative toned voice calling from right beside him.

“Gary.” He turns around to see that Dicky is no longer there. Out of the blue, Lottie has taken his place and is grabbing his arm, urgently pulling him away. “Gary, come on,” she says, shaking him. A choir of gasps is heard from the people around them, who are now staring in shock. “Gary!”

Gary jolts upright, the bright sunlight hurting his eyes when he opens them. It takes him a couple of seconds to adjust his vision again and realize that he’s at the Villa, lying on a daybed. He stares down and sees bedsheet marks on his arms, and then rubs his face, which still feels numb from slumber. A small groan comes out of his mouth.

“Wh— what’s…?” he mumbles, slowly coming back to reality.

Shielding his eyes with his forearm, he looks around and notices that Lottie is standing next to him, her pale and slender arms crossed in front of her chest.

“You fell asleep,” she tells him, quirking an eyebrow. “Get up. Ibrahim’s got a text.”

Still dazed and a little confused for waking up so abruptly, the blond man manages to speak. “Go ahead. I’ll catch up in a minute,” he says.

“Fine,” Lottie responds with a shrug.

Once the girl has left, sauntering confidently towards the outdoors kitchen, Gary lets out a long sigh and slumps down in the mattress, feeling so silly and _ashamed_. Since he saw Minni and Bobby kissing last night, he kind of gave up in the idea of turning her head— at this point, he thinks it’s practically impossible. And as the competition just becomes harder, he doesn’t know if she’s ever going to have eyes for him anymore. He hasn’t decided yet if it’s right to keep pursuing her, less if he should get his feelings towards her out in the open. What’s more inconvenient than that, is that the whole country knows that he still has a crush on her, because he can’t seem to shut up about it when he gets asked about it in the Beach Hut.

In honest words, Gary mainly feels bad for himself; he pities himself for liking the girl who everyone wants, and who evidently doesn’t want him anymore. Now he doesn’t know how in hell he’s going to look at Minni straight in the eye without dying from embarrassment, after dreaming of her in a white wedding dress and getting married to none other than him.

After a few seconds, he sits upright and pats across the bed until he finds his optical glasses, which are engulfed between the bedsheets by his feet. He fumbles with them, his emotions messing with him and making his movements uncharacteristically clumsy. When he puts them on and can see more clearly, he stands up and stretches, his muscles puffing and bulging as he moves. He arrives to the kitchen not long after, all the Islanders being gathered there and chatting a bit as they wait for everyone to get there so Ibrahim can read the text out loud.

Minni’s slim figure appears at the corner of Gary’s eye and he can’t avoid turning slightly to catch a glimpse of her. _Bloody hell_ , he thinks and growls internally, when he realizes that she’s all dressed in white.

**Snogathon – Afternoon.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ele2DMU49Jk)**

“Too much tongue. It gave me washing machine vibes,” Lucas states. “I’ll give her a five.”

“A little more tongue and it would have been like kissing a camel. I’ll give her a six anyway,” Bobby jokes.

Ever since the kissing challenge began, Bobby and Lucas have been very direct with their _feedback_ on the girl’s kissing technique, making various Islanders laugh or pissing off the girl in question. Minni knows it’s not personal and that this is just a game, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t gotten progressively nervous as all the girls have had their turn before her. It seems like she’s going to be the last one to get to kiss the boys.

“Gary, could you please rate that kiss out of then?” Hope asks. She’s the one who’s been hosting the challenge, remaining pretty confident despite having earned a rating of less than four in every boy except for Noah, because she only pecked them all and went full-on with her partner.

“I’ll go with a… seven,” he says with a cheeky smile.

He shuffles in his place, having to stand up still and with his hands clasped behind his back, plus being blindfolded, for so long already becoming a bit uncomfortable for him. He hasn’t had an incredible kiss yet, just good ones, which is kind of a disappointment despite having enjoyed the challenge so far. As of now, he knows that there’s few girls left, if not one. All of the sudden, the outside noises get muffled, so he guesses the noise cancelling headphones got activated again. This challenge has been an interesting experience for him, to say the least.

“Just a seven?! Really?” Lottie growls, rolling her eyes. Gary doesn’t respond and none of the boys react, making her figure out that they can’t hear her now.

Nonetheless, all the girls shush her. Reluctantly, she walks towards them and slumps over her place in the bench.

“Now is girl number six’s turn,” Hope says enthusiastically, pointing at Minni.

“Finally,” the younger girl whispers and stands up, feeling a little shaky. She manages to pull a smile and lets out a nervous laugh as she walks to get in front of the line of boys. Before she can even start, Hope clears her throat loudly. Minni turns around and sees the dark-skinned girl signaling a small wooden platform next to her. The brunette whines. “Do I really have to use that thing? It’s kind of embarrassing.”

Behind her and sitting in the bench, Marisol speaks in a quiet voice, just in case. “It’s for us, the short ones,” she shrugs. “Or they’ll know it’s you.”

With a childish pout, Minni grabs it and places it in front of Ibrahim, who is the first Islander in the queue. The girl has to cover her mouth to stop a chuckle at the ridiculousness of the situation as she steps on the small platform and ends up pretty much at the golfer’s height. Before doing anything, she looks back at the girls once more, looking for a little reassurance. Chelsea is quick to wink at her, and Priya puts her both thumbs up with a smile.

“You go girl,” mouths the second one, encouraging. “Best for last.”

The blue-eyed student exhales a little to relieve some tension and then grabs Ibrahim’s face, guiding him towards her. She kisses the boys one by one, trying to do her best and displaying all of her skill, focusing on her task as much as it is possible, because she wants to prove to herself that she’s an actual good kisser and that Gary’s and Rocco’s compliments weren’t just lines with intentions to flirt, more than because she wants to win the unknown prize. Besides, it would be fun to have the youngest girl of the group, presumably the most unexperienced one, win this challenge, particularly because Priya’s score is insanely high.

Minni goes through Ibrahim, Bobby and Lucas, and luckily doesn’t get any comments or jokes like some of the other girls. She doesn’t know if this is good or bad, but at least she’s not getting embarrassed on the spot. Surprisingly, she sees the corners of Lucas’ lips tug a little and then maintains them curved in a small smirk as she walks to the next boy, which is Noah. The brunette knows for a fact that kissing him will cause a scene from Hope; it already happened with Marisol and Priya. So, because she’s not up for that kind of drama and yet having to listen to her about people not being allowed to kiss her man like that, Minni decides to do something different instead. Smiling, she looks back at Hope, then winks at her and grabs Noah’s face with both of her hands. The dark-skinned girl’s eyes go wide for a second until she realizes that Minni leans Noah down to kiss forehead gently, and then palms his upper chest when they separate.

Noah lets out a laugh at the gesture. “Cute,” he comments with a small smile.

Once more, Minni walks down the platform and moves it so it’s positioned in front of the next boy. She hesitates on stepping up, Jakub’s imponent and pale frame in front of her. It would be a lie saying that kissing him isn’t an icky concept to her. He’s not that bad and most girls actually think he’s good-looking, but what is a major turn off for Minni is remembering that he actually thinks humans can breathe in Mars. The girl cringes— if she wants the points, she has to do it.

She makes it quick and, honestly, it ends up not being as bad as she thought it would be, although he used way too much tongue for her liking. Finally, she moves her silly wooden platform for shorties and puts it in front of Gary, who is the last boy in line. Unconsciously, her eyes go bright just by looking at him. She can’t say that she isn’t excited to have the chance to kiss him again, even if it is just a game. In no time, she can feel Lottie’s sight digging holes in the back of her neck, making her hesitate a little.

“Get in!” Chelsea exclaims from behind her, trying to be quiet. “Whoop, whoop!”

Her encouragement washes away her friend’s tension rapidly and, after that, Minni puts a hand on either side of Gary’s face, a grin forming in his lips. The young woman can’t help but want to grin as well, but tries to play it cool and manages to keep her facial expressions under control.

She thought that after trying so hard to hide her attraction for Gary for such a long time, she wouldn’t feel much when kissing him. But she was wrong— as soon as their lips touch, sparks fly just like the first time they kissed, sitting on a daybed under the twinkling night sky. She feels his lips tense at the sudden explosion of endorphins, and then relax against her, leaning forward to get nearer.

A gasp escapes the crane operator’s mouth, inevitably. He’s not sure who’s kissing him, but it’s the best kiss he’s had so far and he finally feels _something_. Curious and definitely wanting _more_ , he tilts closer and closer and reciprocates the slow kiss with the same energy the girl is kissing him.

When she runs her fingers across the hair on the back of his head, Gary’s knuckles go white behind his back as he fights the urge to unclasp his hands to touch her. Her lips mold against his and their tongues go around each other so easily, their movements being so in sync, all of this forming a pleasant knot in his belly so fervent that he knows he couldn’t possibly describe if Hope asks him later to give his opinion on her technique. As of now, he can guess who it is the mysterious girl in front of him, because he hasn’t met anyone else who’s kissing is this slow yet so electric. He smiles against her lips.

Gently, Minni pulls away, her heart thumping unbelievably fast against her ribcage. She lets out a small breath and steps down the platform. Turning around nonchalantly and like if nothing had happened, she smiles at the girls and returns to her spot in the bench. Lottie’s intense and green glare follows her, but she doesn’t say anything because she knows best than to push the brunette’s buttons.

Subsequently, the boys proceed to give their rating as Hope asks them one by one. Minni can’t hide a smug smirk when she realizes that she earns above eight points with the first three of them.

“Noah?” Hope asks next.

“I’ll give her a six,” he shrugs. “Points for creativity.”

Minni smiles, feeling already a little triumphant, now knowing that the lack of commenting about her kissing was because they didn’t have much to criticize. Hope moves to mark the scores on the board and picks up a card from the set of cards that had been handed to her to host the challenge.

“Jakub, could you please describe that girl’s kissing technique and rate it out of then?” she asks, reading the card.

The bodybuilder grins, confidently. “Slow and sensual,” he says. “I’ll give her a nine.”

Cringing from embarrassment, Minni goes red and covers her face with her hands. She didn’t even put any effort in him and although his words are nice, the guy still thinks penguins can fly. The rest of the girls exchange looks, surprised by how the younger girl seems to be taking over the scoreboard of this challenge.

“You are kind of slaying,” Marisol whispers to her with a stunned laugh. “Who would’ve thought?”

The blue-eyed student doesn’t know if to take her words in a good or a bad way, but lets it pass as soon as she notices that Hope has finished writing Jakub’s score and is now talking to Gary.

“Gary, could you rate that kiss out of ten?” she asks, lastly.

The crane operator takes a moment to think. He really wants to give Minni’s kiss a ten, because she surely deserves it, but is not sure if it will get him in trouble with Lottie later. He concludes that it’s not a big deal anyway, giving that this is just a game, after all.

“I’ll give her a ten,” he responds with a goofy smile.

The Cantabrigian instantly feels all eyes on her and can’t avoid blushing with pink color. It’s a shame that Lottie’s poisonous stare makes her feel uncomfortable when she should be enjoying the fact that Gary gave her a ten. Of course it was possible that he would give her that high of a rating; the connection and chemistry between the two is undeniable even when they try to deny it and push each other away.

Just a couple of seconds pass before Lottie stands up, raging. “What the—?!”

Rapidly, Marisol catches her arm and pulls her down to sit back on the bench.

“Woah, our first then!” Hope exclaims, trying to change the subject and ignore the Aussie’s outburst. “Better watch out for your men, girls,” she adds, playfully punching Minni’s arm. The girl just smiles at her, guessing that she wouldn’t be that happy if she would’ve dared to kiss Noah.

Needless to say, Minni is pleased with her score so far, and immediately looks at the board with the intentions of doing the math to know who won the challenge. When she realizes that her and Priya’s score are practically the same except for Gary’s ten, she opens her eyes wide, but doesn’t say anything and lets Hope take her time to count the points. Later and after Lottie has calmed down, the retail ambassador starts announcing the places in which the girls ended up.

“… and our stop snogger, just one point above the second place is… Minni!”

“Oh my days,” she giggles as the Islanders applaud and Priya, who finished in second place, gives her a cuddle in a way to congratulate her. All of this is certainly a confidence booster for Minni, especially after everything that has gone down since she arrived to the Villa. Before she can say anything else, her phone makes a sound. “I got a text!”

<Minerva, congratulations on being the best snogger. Your reward is special date and a night in the Hideaway with your current partner. #anightoflove #keepsnogging.>

Some Islanders gasp and others immediately begin to cheer, congratulating them both and wolf whistling at Bobby, who does his best not to look surprised and attempts to show enthusiasm, when in reality he knows the situation could take a weird turn particularly because he has been avoiding Minni as he tried to figure out how to tell her that he doesn’t want to be in a romantic couple with her by any means, without hurting her feelings. Still standing at the end of the line, Gary stays quiet, whereas he tries to process that it was his score of a solid ten which gave Minni the win.

**In the Hideaway – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pElnrhNI4E)**

Much to the surprise of both of them, Minni and Bobby were able to shake off the initial awkwardness during their special date in the patio of the Hideaway, as they drank fancy wine and enjoyed the view amongst fairy lights and slow music. It was extremely romantic indeed, but they managed to make it seem like any other bean bag or kitchen conversation.

Full of the delicious dinner they got served, they enter the Hideaway room, still dressed in their date outfits. Minni lets herself fall on the gigantic bed, which is adorned with velvety red bedsheets and an unnecessary amount of silky cushions and pillows. She can’t believe this is her first time in here, and that she’s not planning to make use of the place, or at least not the use they invented it for. Despite the fact that she looked for Bobby the entire morning to have a chat about last night’s situation, now that she is actually next to him she doesn’t know how to start talking. Without saying anything, she stares blankly at the ceiling, attempting to focus in the orangey and reddish color of the neon tubes that make the entire scenery look sultrier.

Bobby does the same as her, lying on his back right at her side, no romantic chemistry between the pair despite the ambience. The Scottish is still undecisive about how to approach Minni regarding what happened last night. This is so unlike him— he’s always down to have a good time, even if it includes kissing or doing bits, with friends and never catches feelings. But this felt different, because it felt like he was kissing a childhood friend, someone who he was absolutely not supposed to kiss and who can never picture himself doing something like that again if it isn’t for a challenge, like this afternoon. And the fact that he initiated the kiss thinking he truly fancied her, then his crush vanished all of the sudden and after that he felt so weird, has him feeling fidgety and anxious, worried that she may have started liking him or seeing him in another light following that single snog. None of that was supposed to happen and he surely didn’t plan any of this, and less expected to, on top of that, having to go into the Hideaway with her.

There’s silence for a good minute, until Bobby is the one to speak. “I think we should finally address the elephant in the room,” he tells her.

“What elephant?” Minni asks, a bit confused at first.

“Last night,” he responds, shortly.

“Oh,” the girl answers, her eyes opening a little wider. She doesn’t know what to expect from this conversation, but is glad that she’s not the only one who thinks that they have to talk about it. She wishes she could have the same opportunity to chat to Gary, especially after he gave her kiss the best rating out of all. “Okay,” Minni says as she props herself up using one elbow so she can look at Bobby in the eyes while he is lying down on his back. “So... did you feel something? Like, any differently?” she asks, hesitant.

“I...” the boy begins, but makes a pause. “Well, don’t you think that if I say no, you’d be kind of influenced by my response if I ask the same question to you after? Just the same as if I say yes?”

The girl looks thoughtful. “You’re right.”

Bobby sighs and thinks, pursing his lips. “Let’s do this. Let’s say it at the same time, yes or no. So no-one’s biased,” he suggests.

“Alright,” Minni agrees. “But be one-hundred percent honest. Whatever it is, we can work on it.”

Determined, Bobby nods. He doesn’t want to make her feel bad if she is really into him, because he knows how hard she took the hit when she realized that Gary didn’t fancy her anymore, but at the same time he has to be honest about this to not lead her on.

“The question is: did we feel _something_? At the count of three,” he says. “One... two... three.”

“No,” the two of them reply at the same time.

A long silence follows as both stare at each other in surprise. Then, because it is them, they erupt into laughter at the same time too. Alleviation fills the air and all the pressure at the prospect of losing their friendship goes away, the room looking less intimidating than before now that the two are clear that none of them caught romantic feelings.

“And here I was, worrying that you actually fancied me,” Bobby confesses with relief as his laughter dies down. “I avoided you all day, Minerva, because I was trying to figure out how to tell you.”

The girl raises an eyebrow. “Well, thanks for having me looking like a fool searching for you,” she chuckles. “Anyway, I’m so glad our friendship is intact.”

Bobby beams. “Me too,” he agrees. “You’re a good kisser, though,” he winks.

A smug glimmer gets trapped in her cobalt orbs. “I’ve had better, to be honest,” she says with a devilish smile, obviously trying to push Bobby’s buttons.

He sticks his tongue out as a response. “I’ve had better,” he mocks her, rolling his honey-colored eyes.

The girl just giggles more at his reaction, and he laughs with her for a little while.

“So… what now?” Bobby asks once they have been quiet for a second.

With a shrug, Minni shifts on the mattress. “It’s the Hideaway, after all. We could always enjoy a full night of sleep without having to hear Noah’s snores.”

Whilst pondering the suggestion, they look at each other. Then energy of the day has not gone down in either of them just yet, both feeling tireless and up to plan some mischief as their usual selves.

Minni sighs. “Actually, I’m not feeling it.”

“Me neither.” 

The small talk acquires a boring tone during some minutes, whereas they look at the ceiling, not moving from their places. Bobby can already imagine tomorrow’s headlines about the pair: ‘Love Island’s Minerva and Bobby’s awkward Hideaway night’ or ‘Love Island’s couple shows zero romantic connection in Hideaway date.’ The Scottish moves to grab a pillow and runs his slender and deft fingers across the silk pillowcase.

“The bed is well comfy, at least,” he comments.

“Yeah… the pillows are nice,” Minni answers, her voice tone being monotonous as she makes the effort to keep the conversation going. “And there’s lots of them.”

Instantaneously, Bobby’s eyes go wide as an idea comes to mind. “Minerva, your intelligence amazes me.”

“What do y—?”

Before she knows what is he thinking of, a pillow hits her face with a strong force. Without being able to react quick enough, a whimper draws out of her mouth since another pillow hits her side. Bobby grins widely and evil laughs. He has now turned the tables of those imaginary gossipy headlines he pictured in his head, and now he is sure they will become: ‘Love Island’s Minerva and Bobby’s epic pillow fight.’

**In the bedroom – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isRaafOdGbE)**

“Bloody hell, Bobby!” a shout is heard even through the sound-proof walls of the Hideaway.

Inside the bedroom the lights are still on, everyone still awake and getting ready to go to sleep. All the Islanders look at each other then, perplexed and astonished. Sitting on his bed and with the white sheets scrunched at his waist, Gary’s eyes grow large in shock and his entire body tenses. He has been dealing with the consequences of giving Minni a ten rating, both from himself for literally gifting the girl he fancies a ticket to the Hideaway with another man, and from Lottie, who gave him a long scold and then decided to give him the cold shoulder for putting her kiss a lower score, and now, on top of that, he has to listen to Minni shouting from the Hideaway. He can’t believe it.

“I thought she said they were just friends,” Hope mumbles, uncomfortable.

“Apparently not anymore,” Marisol raises an eyebrow.

“Well, it’s the Hideaway. I can’t blame them,” Priya shrugs.

Suddenly, the door of the bedroom bursts open, with Minni running inside. She is protecting the back of her head with her hands, her hair covered in white feathers and cotton balls. “Stop!” she screams, sprinting in the direction of the back of the room. A pillow hits the middle of her back with a thump. “Help! He’s attacking me!”

Internally, Gary sighs of relief. He watches the scene curious and intrigued, while Bobby appears at the doorframe. The pastry chef imitates an evil laugh, holding a bunch of pillows with both hands.

“You’ll never escape. I am inevitable,” he says.

“What’s going on?” Marisol asks, curious.

Minni ducks between two beds. “We started a pillow fight and he hoarded all the pillows to himself,” she pouts. “And now he doesn’t want to stop.”

“That’s what a coward would say. Get out of there and fight like a girl!” Bobby states, deepening his voice dramatically.

“I’m not a coward!” Minni peeks up in a menacing attitude, and a pillow hits her right away. “Ow!”

After seeing that, Priya takes her pillow and gets ready. “Don’t worry, hun. I got you,” she tells the blue-eyed girl before throwing her pillow at Bobby. It lands flat on his face, making him stop a for a second.

“You didn’t,” he gasps, eyeing the older girl. Not giving anyone time to react, he throws a pillow at Priya as revenge, but Rahim catches it before it can touch her and throws it back at him. The pillow hits the Scottish’s chest, making him huff.

“My hero,” Priya exclaims dramatically, hugging a blushing Rahim by the waist.

Trying to use distraction to sneak to a safer place, Minni ducks and begins to crawl, but doesn’t go far and ends up between Noah and Hope’s bed and Gary and Lottie’s when Bobby notices her.

“You won’t escape this, Minerva! You will p—!”

Another cushion hits his face, so strongly that his body swings back a little. This time it came from Gary, who is smiling smugly at him. The brunette girl sneaks a smile at him and he winks at her. He now sees this as a little ray of light and decides that this could be the perfect opportunity to get closer to Minni as he protects her from Bobby’s attacks.

“If you think I’ll be scared to go against a gym buff, you don’t know me at all,” the pastry chef announces.

“It’s on!” Gary exclaims.

Shielding the petite girl with his body, the blonde man gathers a lots of pillows and both team up to begin to throw them with brute force. None of the two know how, but they end up accidentally hitting other Islanders, who then decide to join and get some revenge, the pillow fight now becoming an equal everyone against everyone.

To avoid getting hit by a rain of pillows coming from Lucas and Ibrahim, Gary tackles Minni onto the floor between two beds while both laugh at the situation. His body is now hovering over hers, his bulky arms at either side of her. Minni pants from exhaustion, her giggles dying down when she realizes how close they are. This brings memories for both, the small gap between them becoming unbearable. Gary chuckles to relieve some tension, remembering how weird he felt after having imagined her in a wedding dress right in front of him. It all dissipates as his muscles don’t follow the orders that his brain is sending to them and, instead of backing away, starts leaning forward slowly.

The skin on Minni’s lips tingles, the remembrance of today’s kiss too fresh for her to ignore. Gary’s eyes don’t leave hers, dark and crystal blue eyes fixed on one another and not letting go. Their noses graze each other, causing her breathing to quiver.

Out of nowhere, another rain of pillows hits their trench, making Minni squeal. That unexpected interruption breaks the moment and reminds Gary that he is coupled up with Lottie now, his dumb illusion of a wedding and that he shouldn’t be doing this right now, so he closes his eyes tightly and clenches his jaw, dismissing his feelings once again.

“Let’s get some more pillows, yeah?” he whispers, his expression hiding how badly he wants her and his mouth forming a playful smirk instead.

Not understanding his mixed signals, Minni decides just to go with the flow and keep the game going. Hopefully, she will have time to process all of this once they’re safe from the pillow fight. “Alright. I’ll get them while you have my back.”

After nodding in agreement, Gary rolls to end up at her side and both stand up. Swiftly and with an odd agility, Minni reaches out to catch as much pillows as she can, whilst hiding behind Gary’s broad back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there wasn't much drama in this chapter, because i wanted our islanders to have a nice little break and to write some silly things before all the tension that comes next >:D so stay tuned for the next chapter, because i'm also skipping directly to Day 13 and i assume you all know what goes down that day｡.:*☆


	12. Day 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long sigh escapes his lips, as if with it he is trying to expel all of those thoughts that make him feel conflicted. He’s not used to being this insecure about birds, or at least not back home, but he really doesn’t want to step over the boundaries that Minni has put between them and upset her. One part of him tells him to just go for it, while other, more unsure, whispers that Minni would rather be with Bobby and that asking her if she wants to recouple with him could scare her away and make things get weird between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello beautiful people｡･:*:･ﾟ★ new chapter coming right through. yet again i skipped another day of the game, mainly because Day 12 is pure Nope drama and i didn't want to put you guys through it haha. thank you all for the support and i hope you enjoy reading this chapter!

**Day 13**

**In the bedroom – Early morning.**

With slow and padding footsteps, Gary walks across the hallway and towards the bedroom. He doesn’t know why Lottie chucked him out of the bed this early, and when he tried to ask her, she just kept telling him to go away and to let her fall asleep again. It’s true that they didn’t have a great night, or not the night one could expect to have in the Hideaway, which was the price behind the Mud Challenge they won yesterday after both managed to come out without a drop of dirt in their bodies. The pair did snog last night, but things didn’t go further than that— Gary wasn’t really feeling it, and was secretly thankful when Lottie decided to cut the kissing and go right to sleep. After that, he fell asleep just like her, and that’s why he woke up so puzzled by her sudden aggressive attitude.

His entire body is still numb from slumber, so he tries twice as hard to be silent as he approaches the door. Slowly, he opens it and closes it behind him, without making any noise. Equally silent, he heads towards his bed, trying to sneak past everyone.

Out of the blue, the lights come on, making Gary wince in the sudden brightness and run for his bed in an attempt to not get caught by his fellow Islanders, especially considering how embarrassing it would be to admit that his night in the Hideaway was far from being the best he’s had so far.

“Oi, Gary, what are you doing?” Ibrahim asks him from his own bed, all awake.

 _Dammit_ , Gary thinks, just a few steps away from his bed. Maybe he should’ve walked faster.

“Aren’t you and Lottie meant to be in the Hideaway?” Priya seconds with confusion.

The unexpected sound of voices at this time in the morning wakes Minni up, and just then she notices that the lights of the bedroom have already been turned on. The brunette girl turns to lie on her side and, with one eye open, she sees that most of the Islanders are staring at a sleepy-looking Gary, who is standing a couple of meters away from his empty bed.

Not knowing what to answer to the questions without having to tell them what happened, Gary starts to spit out vague words as he tries to make an excuse in his head. “I was in the Hideaway. And now I’m not,” he says, shielding his hurting eyes from the bright lights. “Let’s not get into it, alright? I just wanted a little bit more sleep, but now I guess everyone’s awake.”

Sitting in her bed, still single, Chelsea eyes him with curiosity. A beam appears in her face as she bounces in her place. “Oh my gosh, how was it in the Hideaway? Tell us everything,” she gasps, enthusiastic.

“Give the guy a break, Chelsea! He’s still half asleep,” Ibrahim says.

Gary nods, mentally thanking him for the save and trying to follow that path of conversation. “Yeah, I’m half asleep. That’s why I don’t want to talk about it.”

This makes the blonde girl pout, following with a frown. “Ooh, there’s blatantly a story there. Spill the beans, Gary!” she insists.

A groan from Marisol’s bed can he heard. “Would you guys be quiet?” she asks grumpily, from under the covers.

“Let’s not bicker this earlier, _please_ ,” Minni growls, scooching closer to Bobby, who wraps one of his slender and toned arms around her shoulders in a soothing manner. Sinking onto the pillow, the girl tries to fall asleep again, still exhausted due to yesterday’s events.

Since Operation Nope happened, a quiet and underlying instability settled between Hope and Noah, with Priya stuck in between, and it all blew up yesterday after Chelsea stole a card from the challenge which revealed that Noah once had an ex who also happened to be called Priya. Minni didn’t think it was a big deal, but Hope somehow managed to blow it out of proportion and it ended up in a huge argument between the pair.

Minni continues without understanding why she also got caught in the middle, although for not the same reasons as Priya; for some reason, they grabbed her as some sort of a mediator, and had her trying to make peace between the two girls and then between the couple. Because of that, the brunette spent her entire evening trying to fix a problem that wasn’t even hers, causing her to not be able to solve her own problems, which she has been postponing for days, and to finish up emotionally exhausted and going straight to bed as soon as the night fell. As if the news that Gary was going to the Hideaway with Lottie hadn’t been hard enough to digest already.

“Yeah, come on. I just want a bit more sleep,” Gary agrees.

Before anyone can say anything else, Hope sits up and stretches. Noah is curled up in bed, with just the top of his head visible above the duvet.

“A bit late for that,” says the dark-skinned girl, animated. “It’s time to get up!” She stands up on the bed and stretches once more, “Another day in paradise.”

Below her own duvet, Minni cringes a little; it’s almost like if yesterday her and Noah weren’t fighting like cats and dogs, with the physics student in the middle.

As much as Minni wants to lie in a few more minutes, there’s a boys-choose Recoupling tonight and, first, she has to look her best, second, she wants to have a chat with the boys to know where their heads are at and, third, she needs to find a way to talk to Chelsea in private, because she can’t seem to catch her alone, to clear her doubts on what she told her about Gary during the Ministry of Sound party for once and all.

In any case, Minni knows that it’s likely that she will end up yet again with Bobby in another friendship couple, because Gary will probably want to stick with Lottie, as he has done nothing but to give the blue-eyed girl mixed signals and nothing coherent for her to interpret. Everything happens so fast here in the Villa and Minni is so focused on solving other people's issues and trying to stay in the game that she feels like she barely has time for herself— and she knows it’s partially her fault for not putting herself first, but now she’s ready to tackle her complications one by one.

While the rest of the Islanders start getting up, the crane operator climbs onto his bed, small and lazy groans coming out of his throat. From where he is, he sneaks small looks at Minni, who spends a couple of seconds stretching while sitting on the edge of the bed. At this point, he has started to accept that being in a proper couple with her is rather platonic, something he only can dream of because both of them explicitly call each other _mate_. But, suddenly, he remembers that there’s a Recoupling coming, and that maybe he could have the possibility of picking her tonight.

As he scans her up and down while she heads to the dressing room, the blond man asks himself if he is really capable of getting in the middle of her relationship with Bobby. Everyone knows that the pair insists that they’re just friends, but Gary is not sure if this is completely true. Perhaps they are just trying to keep their relationship under wraps whilst they figure out how to deal with their crushes on each other, Gary reckons, because something similar has happened to him too.

He guesses that choosing Lottie would be safer to stay in the game, plus he still fancies her, but things between the two are not going as smoothly as he wishes they were, especially after last night. And his strong attraction for Minni isn’t going away anytime soon; he knows it perfectly, even when he has tried so hard to like his current partner more and to make himself think of her as a first option. He’s tired of being in this weird limbo of not knowing how to approach the blue-eyed beauty.

A long sigh escapes his lips, as if with it he is trying to expel all of those thoughts that make him feel conflicted. He’s not used to being this insecure about birds, or at least not back home, but he really doesn’t want to step over the boundaries that Minni has put between them and upset her. One part of him tells him to just go for it, while other, more unsure, whispers that Minni would rather be with Bobby and that asking her if she wants to recouple with him could scare her away and make things get weird between them. Soon, he manages to ponder the two polar opposites in his head, making him decide to chat to the lads first and see how things go during the day before pulling her for a chat and, finally, try to confess his feelings somehow.

**At the lawn – Noon.**

“I’m well suited with Priya, actually. We get along really well,” Ibrahim lies back on the bean bag as he responds to Lucas.

“Oh, really? You sure you don’t want to try it with someone else?” the physiotherapist questions, cautious.

The golfer shakes his head. “No, I don’t think I do. I guess we will stick together, at least for tonight.”

The boys have just started chatting about the Recoupling, everyone sitting in a circle of bean bags. By using his paw-like hand, Gary shields this eyes from the strong sunshine that hits the lawn and tints the Villa’s grass of a lime color, as he looks at his mates one by one. Most of them seem relaxed about tonight, because they are the ones who get to choose and fortunately nobody is getting dumped from the Island just yet.

The blond crane operator is almost feeling as relaxed as them when Ibrahim’s next phrase makes him tense all over. “And I think Bobby and Minni will stick together, too. They seem pretty solid despite being in a friendship couple,” the golfer says with a slight shrug.

Lucas lets out a small chuckle. “ _Friendship_ ,” he repeats, making quotation marks with his fingers.

It doesn’t surprise Gary that the Villa is practically divided between those who think that Minni and Bobby or, as they jokingly call themselves, Dick, have something romantic going on despite vehemently denying it, and the others that don’t, choosing to believe in their asseverations. He still doesn’t know where he stands, and that uncertainty holds him back from saying something on the matter. He feels quite paralyzed by the confusing situation, specifically by the thought that he could get rejected by Minni when he approaches later on.

“How about you, mate?” Noah asks.

It takes a couple of seconds for Gary to realize that the librarian is asking the question to him. Awkwardly and scratching the back of his neck, the muscular Chathamite starts talking. “Actually, I—"

“Hi, boys,” a bubbly and airy voice says from behind. The man stops talking as soon as he hears it, accompanied with light yet chunky-sounding footsteps.

With a soft smile in her pink and plumped lips, and her eyes changing from their usual cobalt color to a royal blue with today’s bright light, Minni crashes down into a yellow bean bag, right next to Ibrahim. She waves at the men in front of her, with them being Lucas, Noah and Gary, and all respond amiably.

After waiting too much for Chelsea to finally choose an outfit for today, Minni got bored and decided to spend the time that the other girl was taking to get ready to go to the lawn and talk to the boys.

“Alright, Minni?” Ibrahim greets her with a smile.

“Yeah, what’s up?” the young woman replies, trying to start a conversation.

In that moment, Gary doesn’t know what takes over him, but he starts blabbing out words in a dumb attempt to not turn the conversation on its previous topic. “Oh, you know, just chatting about the world and everything in it,” he says, trying to play it cool. “Like about trees and mountains and stuff. You know. Seasons. People. The future.”

“And the Recoupling,” Lucas adds, nonchalantly.

The crane operator’s face falls a little. “Yeah, the Recoupling. We were chatting about that quite a bit.”

“On Recoupling day, all anyone ever wants to talk about is the Recoupling,” Noah comments, managing to lighten the mood a little bit even when everyone knows that him and Hope are not nearly in their best moment.

Before the conversation can continue, Chelsea comes in out of nowhere and parks on the remaining bean bag. In a split second, Minni opens her eyes a little wider at the sight of her. The physics student has been waiting to talk to her the entire morning and just now she manages to catch her not being busy on getting ready for her first Recoupling in the show. At this moment, she only has to find a way for both to get out of the lawn and into a more private place.

“Oh hi boys!” Chelsea exclaims, flicking her short blonde hair. She has finally settled for a flamingo-pink bikini, which enhances all of her curves. “Talking about me?”

“Not exactly, no,” Gary responds in a soft voice, sincerely.

“Just talking about the Recoupling tonight,” Lucas informs her. “We were talking about how…”

“Wow, that’s so interesting,” the interior decorator interrupts, a grin spreading across her tanned features. Next, she leans forward and places her elbows on top of her knees, paying full attention to the boys. “Tell me everything. What’s the goss? Who’s picking who? Who are you picking, Rahim? Are you going to pick me?”

The dark-skinned golfer hesitates at the sudden bombarding of questions. “Um, I…”

“I think you might pick Priya,” Chelsea speaks, cutting him short.

“Maybe, I’ll…”

Apparently, the new girl is so excited for the Recoupling that she can’t stop talking and is not even aware of it. This causes the boys to exchange glances, quite confused but also entertained. “OMG, you guys will make such a good couple. She’s so fun, I love her,” the blonde continues, exuberant as always. Just then, she turns to Gary and bats her long false eyelashes. “Gary, who are you going to pick?” she asks. “I think it’ll either be Lottie or M—”

“Well, when you just come out and ask like that…” the man interrupts, his voice louder than he intended to because of his nervousness. He clears his throat, and thinks about a response to try and divert the attention.

Luckily for him, Minni sees this as the perfect time to pull Chelsea away, because she has just noticed that her water bottle is empty and has decided that it’s the perfect excuse to go to the kitchen area. “Hey, Chels. I need to get some water,” the Cantabrigian says, smiling. “Would you like to come with me to the kitchen?”

Unexpectedly, her friend pouts at her proposal. “But babes, I need to find out who are they going to pick,” she whines, gesturing at the boys in front of her. “It’s such a good goss,” she adds, subtlety rejecting her. Following that, she turns to the men once more. “What about you, Noah?”

“Chelsea,” Minni insists, fighting to maintain the same smile. The blue-eyed girl attempts to make eye contact with the other girl, but she doesn’t seem to take the hint. She’s too distracted and overall excited to pay attention to her signals and body language to even notice.

“Oh, come on, Minni,” she gets closer to her and speaks in a quieter voice, although the boys can still hear from where they are at. She talks in a thrilled tone. “Don’t be a party pooper. I bet you want to know too.” Then, she winks at the brunette and her eyes dart briefly to Gary, now without nobody noticing.

With the situation getting to her nerves already, Minni grits her teeth and blinks her anxiousness away. “Chelsea, would you go with me to fill my water bottle?” she asks one more time, maintaining her composure.

“Let me quiz the boys here first, babes,” her friend dismisses again with yet another whine, still not getting what Minni wants from her. “I’m having so much fun!”

After that, the brunette decides to give up. With a bit of luck, she can catch Chelsea after she finishes talking to the boys.

A sigh escapes the girl’s lips as she gives her blonde friend a frustrated look. “Alright, see you guys in a bit… I guess,” she mumbles. Without waiting for an answer, she stands up and heads to the kitchen to refill her water bottle, all alone.

Just when Minni’s petite and light figure, dressed in a flowy light purple mini dress, has transformed into a small purple silhouette at the kitchen, Chelsea notices that she’s gone. She turns her head around, looking for her friend, and then spots her far away.

“Why did she go?” the new girl asks, puzzled.

The four men exchange a quick glance, everyone quiet.

“I think she wanted to have a private chat with you,” Lucas finally speaks for them.

Chelsea’s mouth opens a little in surprise. “Did she? Oh, shoot. I didn’t notice,” she gasps with a bit of shame. “I’ll talk to her later,” she shrugs after a couple of seconds, flicking her hand in an easygoing manner and not making a big deal out of it.

The lads' chat resumes to the initial Recoupling talk, with Ibrahim, Lucas and Noah instantly initiating a candid conversation. Gary turns his attention to them with the intentions to join, when he feels Chelsea getting closer to him with a secretive attitude.

“I bet you wanna pick her today, don’t you?” the blonde girl whispers to him, sneaking a wink.

Gary freezes in place at the forward of her declaration. He reminds himself that obviously Chelsea knows about his crush on Minni, because she watched every episode of the show so far before entering the Villa. “I…”

Once again, Chelsea can’t contain her bubbly and enthusiastic persona and interrupts him before giving him time to form a proper sentence. “You want me to tell her you wanna pick her when I go talk to her later?”

“No!” Gary exclaims. With a gasp, he shuts up in an instant, ashamed of his nervous outburst. “I mean… no. Not yet. I want to have a private word with her myself. I’d really appreciate if you don’t say anything before I can talk to her.”

Understanding where he’s coming from, Chelsea beams and nods. “My lips are sealed. Pinky promise.”

**Recoupling – Evening.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX4UO49S5BE)**

At the fire pit, the small flames crackle and dim rhythmically as all of the Islanders settle onto their respective positions, girls and boys separated from one another. With tension slowly raising in the atmosphere even though nobody is getting kicked out, the girls stand in a row around the fire pit and the boys sit opposite them. Nobody speaks and a few friends or couples exchange brief looks.

Gary can’t help to avoid the eyes of the girl he wants to choose today, berating himself for not having the guts to pull her for a chat as he first intended. He knows that it could be a bad idea picking her out of nowhere and without having talked to Bobby about it; the crane operator doesn’t want to tread on anyone’s toes, but he can’t do much now that they’re all here. He doesn’t know what to do now, although he heavily considers the idea of saying Minni’s name and explain himself later, after all of this weary ceremony is over. He scolds himself internally for not being good at handling confrontation.

Meanwhile, Minni’s big blue eyes roam across other boys, in an attempt to read their expressions. She notices that Bobby is particularly anxious, and she can guess why; earlier on she went to the roof terrace to find him talking to Marisol about a weird feeling they had regarding today in general, especially about the Recoupling. Minni didn’t feel that uneasy vibe they were sensing, but understood his preoccupation and tried to reassure him the best she could. In any case, he promised to pick her tonight, which has her feeling secure about tonight’s outcome. They might not be the next big romance here, but at least they have each other’s backs no matter what.

As the brunette finds her own mind starting to overthink quite a bit, she uselessly tries to convince herself that maybe the Scottish just has that tense face because he’s still frustrated for not winning today’s Master Bakers challenge, even when his and Minni’s cake looked world class— the pair of best friends still make a great team and they had an amazing time together.

In need of something to bring her thoughts back to the _now_ , the physics student reaches out for Chelsea’s hand, who is standing next to her. The other girl takes it without thinking it twice and gives her a reassuring squeeze. In some way, her friend managed to avoid her big time, despite Minni’s restless attempts to chat with her. This only brought the blue-eyed girl to think that she was far too distracted about the Recoupling and about today’s events in general to pay attention to her, something that frustrated her but didn’t hold against Chelsea, particularly because she told her that she has ADHD.

What Minni doesn’t know is that the blonde interior decorator was trying to keep herself away from her as to not to tell her _everything_ about Gary’s thoughts on her, about the things she saw on TV when she wasn’t in the Villa— Chelsea was, and still is, itching to tell Minni the cute things the blond crane operator said about her in the Beach Hut confessions since their first day in the Villa, how devastated he looked when the brunette didn’t pick him at the latest Recoupling and how much he still fancies her. In any case, she hasn’t told her friend all of this things sooner because the last time she spoke about what she saw on the outside without someone asking her to first, the new girl got in trouble with Lottie and caused major drama, or because she simply forgets about it as her mind swims in a bunch of different thoughts all the time. Anyway, there was a point during the day when she wanted nothing but to spill everything to Minni and she still doesn’t know how she managed to contain herself. Now, the bubbly blonde is proud for being able to keep the promise she made to Gary. She asks herself if he talked to the blue-eyed girl yet, as he said he would.

To say that Chelsea is excited would be an understatement, because she has been waiting to couple up with someone for days since she got here. By this point, she doesn’t care who it is because every boy in here is extremely hot and rather nice. As long as she can say that she has a couple, she finally will feel truly immersed in the Love Island experience she came looking for.

A phone chimes, cutting the silence like a sharp knife. Jakub checks his, then rises to his feet with his characteristic smug grin. He clears his throat and smooths his outfit by using his massive hands. “Alright,” he starts speaking. “I want to couple up with this girl because I think a lot of people in here might have given up on her. And because I think I see something in her that nobody else does. She’s a great laugh and I want to see where things could go with her,” he says. “I always say I’m not afraid to shake things up. I want to see where my journey takes me. So the girl I want to couple up with is… Hope.”

The Villa’s fire pit fills with gasps and every Islander’s face shows evident astonishment, staring at either Jakub or Hope in disbelief. Even Chelsea seems shocked, as she squeezes Minni’s hand a little tighter in surprise right after hearing the mention of the dark-skinned girl’s name.

“Woah,” Hope breathes. She looks strangely pleased, amused even.

Minni feels more confused after seeing her reaction, because, after having insisted so much in sticking to Noah this entire time, particularly after Operation Nope and yesterday’s argument, the blue-eyed girl figured out that Hope wanted nothing else than to be with the man who she has been coupled up since day one. Nobody says anything while Hope walks over to Jakub, kisses him on the cheek, and sits down.

The silence around the place becomes eerie until Noah’s phone beeps. He stands, his expression unreadable despite having his head bowed and his arms hanging loosely at his sides. “Well, I… I think I need to…” he stutters. After that, he stops and shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. “Right, right. Okay. This is a bit of a shock. But actually, it’s not completely unexpected. And I know what I want to do.” He clears his throat. “I’d like to couple up with this girl because even though it wasn’t how I was expecting it to go this evening, I’m excited to embrace this opportunity to give it a try with someone new.”

While Noah continues with his speech, Minni tries to catch Bobby’s bright, honey-colored eyes. The pastry chef is shifty and stares at Noah with a bashful expression on his features. The brunette girl now realizes that maybe he feels guilty because he took part in planning Operation Nope to try to separate them and now they’re all seeing the consequences of it.

Suddenly, the young woman hears Priya’s name and notices that, sitting next to Bobby, Lucas looks up suddenly and clearly shocked.

“Wait, what are you…?” Ibrahim growls at the other end of the bench.

Gary is quick to put a hand on his arm. “Easy, mate.”

Dazed in confusion, Minni joins the Islanders in a little round of applause for the new couple. She reckons everything is getting all messy in this Recoupling and that maybe Marisol and Bobby were right about today’s vibe. Biting her inner lip and now worried because someone could pull her away from her solid friendship-couple too, she nervously follows Priya’s figure with her eyes as she walks over to Noah, then puts her arm around his waist and sits down next to him.

Noticing that there are major couple changes by now, Gary’s urging look darts to Minni few times. Maybe he could get away with choosing her now without having anyone getting mad about it. It seems like most will be swapping partners anyway, but does that mean he could do the same?

The blond’s thoughts are cut short by the notification sound of a phone next to him.

“It’s my turn now,” Lucas announces and then he rises slowly to his feet. “This isn’t quite what I was expecting to be saying when I stood up here,” the physiotherapist begins. He looks meaningfully at Noah for a second. “But it’s looks like nothing’s going how you expect this evening, so... I want to couple up with this girl because I think that we could probably make a really good go of it. She’s...”.

He seems to glance at Hope now, his speech already not sounding too convincing and meaningful. In honest words, Lucas doesn’t quite fancy any of the girls he has in front of him. His thing with Marisol didn’t work, he finds Lottie notably moody and Chelsea’s enthusiasm is too over the top for him, which leaves him just with Minni, who isn’t exactly his type either; when he first met her he thought that she was a good option, but inside the Villa he has seen the girl constantly taking the role of a peacekeeper, with or without intending to, and never watching out for herself first, something that is not of his preference. Still, he tries to deliver a convincing speech the best he can.

“She’s the kind of girl I know I could really get along with. I think me and her could... really make it happen,” the Asian trails off.

It’s obvious for Minni that he was going for either Hope or Priya, and that now he doesn’t know what to do. She winces internally, feeling bad that he is in this position and speaking in such an awkward manner.

“So the girl I want to couple up with is...” he continues. “Minerva.”

A few seats away from him, Bobby looks up, clearly shocked. Following that, the Scottish and the recently picked girl share a confused look, none of them knowing how to react yet. At Lucas’ side, Gary can’t avoid throwing a death glare at the man once he fully realizes that he left him without the chance to pick Minni and, on top of that, he took her away from Bobby.

The muscular crane operator lets out a quiet grunt and shakes his head. “For fuck’s sake,” he mutters to himself, frustrated.

After getting out of the initial surprise, Minni raises her eyebrow slightly and looks directly at Lucas, trying not to make it too evident that she’s not pleased with his decision. The young woman plays it cool because she doesn’t want to make him look bad in front of all this people, but will surely question him in private later on, despite hating confrontation. With that in mind, she slowly walks over to him and takes her seat next to him.

Lucas senses her frosty attitude at once, especially reminding himself how warm of a person she usually is. “How are you feeling?” he whispers to her.

Minni just responds with a small hum and a shrug. Contrary to her chill front, the physiotherapist notices that her lips are forming a small pout and her entire body is tense.

“Oh, sorry…” he mumbles, really meaning it. “I guess we should talk about it afterwards.”

The brunette simply nods, her burning eyes avoiding his and going to look at the fire pit instead. Just in that moment, Ibrahim’s phone beeps.

“Alright guys. It’s my turn,” he says, raising to his feet. In front of him, Lottie, Chelsea and Marisol are still single. “I’m not really sure, like, how this is going to go. But everyone’s pulling it out of the bag tonight, so I think I’ll do the same. It’s all change, right? So I’m gonna go with my gut,” he explains. “I’d like to couple up with this girl because she calls it like she sees it. She gets straight to the point, she makes me laugh, and I really want to try things out with her and see where they can go. I think it’s time to do something a little unexpected.” The golfer makes a brief pause before continuing. “The girl I want to couple up with is Lottie.”

“Really?” the pale makeup artist asks, astounded. She surely did not see this coming, and although she’s not sure that she will drop Gary to be with Ibrahim, she’s willing to give him a chance just because the timid golfer was brave and confident enough to choose her. “Babes! Okay, let’s… let’s see how this goes, then.”

Now with his first and second option for this Recoupling gone, Gary feels like there’s some kind of force conspiring against his wishes. He keeps quiet and, without having too much time to think more, his phone beeps.

“Righto. My turn,” he speaks, rising to his feet. He manages to cheer himself up whilst he looks at the two girls that are left in front of him and pulls up a smile. “I’d like to couple up with this girl because she’s got a lot of energy. And I wonder if she’s got any hidden depths,” the blond man says, keeping it short. “The girl I want to couple up with is Chelsea.” Then, he looks at Marisol, apologetic. There was no way he would’ve chosen her after what happened between them with the whole Rocco situation. “Sorry, love.”

The law student shrugs, comprehensively. “It’s fine.”

At her side, Chelsea beams. “Oh my gosh,” the interior decorator gasps. Without thinking much of it, she rushes over to Gary, plants a massive kiss on his cheek and puts a hand around his waist, more excited to already be in a couple than because it’s him. “I can’t believe it!”

Her new partner looks at her, feeling odd. He reckons she’s alright and that maybe he could also try to work something with her, although he’s not completely sure what to expect. She’s incredibly fit in his eyes, but as far as having a romantic connection goes, he hasn’t felt it yet. “Me neither. What a turnout,” the crane operator adds.

Gary tries not to overthink all of this stuff and to remain collected as he goes to sit back on the bench alongside Chelsea, but still he can’t shake off the brooding thought that, yet again, he wasn’t able to couple up with Minni.

**In the kitchen – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOZJqcI7KSg)**

Before going to sleep, Minni takes the time to go to the kitchen to top her water bottle; after the unforeseen events of today, she expects a sleepless night, so having enough water to go through it without having to take a trip to the outdoors kitchen in the middle of it is the best she can do for now.

She appreciates that Lucas looked concerned following the Recoupling, giving her cold reaction, and that he was honest during the chat that they had right after. At first, the girl sensed that he was trying to fake that he was into her, but soon he admitted that she’s not his type and that, sadly, she was the only one he thought he could get along well out of the four remaining girls. With both of their heads into different people and no chemistry between the two, they decided to stay in a friendship couple until the next Recoupling. Although there’s no bad blood between them whatsoever for the sake of keeping things light, Minni still feels offended and doesn’t think that what he did was okay.

Beyond being mad at him for pulling her away from Bobby, Minni feels bad about herself for landing in some sort of a third-choice category. While she fills her water bottle absentmindedly, she begins to worry that maybe she’s everyone’s third or second choice, and no-one’s first.

In silence, Gary wanders into the kitchen, finding the blue-eyed girl completely alone for the first time during the day, and for the first time of what seems like the past week. His heart beats fast at the sight of her petite frame, and he decides to take his chance to speak to her in private before it slips away from his fingers like it always happens.

“Hey, Minni,” the blonde man says, putting on his brave face and getting all the confidence he has on himself out of his chest and onto his head. He puts a gentle hand on her shoulder to get her full attention. “I’d like to chat with you for a bit.”

When the girl finally meets his light blue eyes, the crane operator can see that her typical cheery and brilliant cobalt color has been replaced for what looks like a stormy sea. Uneasiness expels from her facial expression, bringing instant worry to his gut.

“Oh, Gary, I… I’m sorry,” she sighs, trying hard to avoid looking upset in front of him and to contain her emotions at the same time. “I also wanted to have a word with you, but now I reckon is not a good moment.”

She looks at the floor in a useless attempt not to give anything away, but as soon as she feels Gary’s preoccupied gaze linger in her, she realizes that he _knows_ that she’s not alright. His warm hand stays on her shoulder, soothingly, being comforting in some way.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

Minni shakes her head, not looking at him directly. “Well, I… mate, I don’t know,” she mumbles. “It wasn’t a good Recoupling, I guess.”

Despite that the girl is making an effort to put barriers between her and Gary as to not to show him how bummed out she really feels, she reckons it’s pointless to keep that façade for so long. Now the only thing she wants to do is to tell him _everything_ , to bury her face onto his broad chest and let him embrace her until she feels better, but she holds back and bottles up her feelings even more if possible.

“Talk to me, love,” Gary says, softly. He surely doesn’t like seeing her this distressed and now is more focused on making sure that she’s okay rather than to express himself.

The young student lets out a breath. “I’m not feeling well, that’s all. It all was a mess,” she finally admits, giving in. “It was so evident back there that I wasn’t of Lucas’ choice and I totally understand that. I’m not his type and he’s not my type either, but nobody forced him to pick me. There were still Chels, Lottie and Marisol left,” she rants, her unhappy sight meeting his gentle stare. “And I felt so embarrassed after knowing that his lazy speech was for me. He didn’t mean any of it and it showed.”

With murky notions and insecurity stuffing her judgment, plus this entire competition and game getting to her head, Minni feels like all of the sudden nobody wants to be coupled up with her— she doesn’t even guess that the boy who wants her the most is standing right in front of her, not knowing how to confess that to her.

“I’m just… I’m mostly frustrated because I wasn’t even his second choice, you know,” she finishes, downplaying her worries.

Gary sighs and brings the hand he had on her shoulder to scratch the back of his head. “I’m going to be honest, I really didn’t see the Recoupling going the way it did. Chelsea wasn’t one of my top choices either,” he recognizes, his shoulders slumping down.

Minni sighs after pondering his words. She just thinks that he wanted to recouple with Lottie and is upset because Ibrahim got there first. “I guess nobody ended up with who they wanted, then. Just ‘Shangri-La’ bloke over there,” the physics student comments to lighten the mood, while nodding at Jakub, who is chatting with Priya, Noah and Chelsea far away at the lawn.

Her unanticipated joke makes Gary let out a soft chuckle. There’s a tranquil silence for a moment, whereas he expects her to keep talking, but she doesn’t. The blue-eyed girl has a permanent pout on her lips that does nothing but to show that even after letting a bit of her concerns out in the open, she’s still not feeling better. The last thing Gary wants her to think is that nobody was planning on picking her tonight to be in a romantic couple with her. His heart aches to make her feel wanted, _appreciated_.

“You were my first choice today,” he blurts out abruptly.

His unpredictable phrase catches Minni by surprise. Her eyes open wide, small hands clutch her water bottle nervously, and she lifts her sight from the floor to look up at the man in front of her, worried that he’s just bantering. But, contrary to finding him with a jokester smirk or holding back a laugh, she sees sincere crystal blue eyes staring back at her, almost timid as he waits for her reaction.

“W-was… was I?” the brunette girl stutters, hurriedly analyzing his face in search for clues that she might heard the wrong words, as not to embarrass herself with the illusion that he wants _her_. “I mean, am I?”

Cautious, Gary nods. An imaginary weight is lifted of his shoulders as he comes clean, he feels more like his usual confident and open self now. “I wanted to pick you tonight, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted us to be more than mates. I reckon I still would’ve chosen you if I would’ve had the opportunity, though.”

Minni blinks a couple of times, processing it all. She opens her mouth to say something but no words come out. She closes it again, takes a breath and tries to speak one more time. “You… you want us to be more than mates?” she asks.

“I think so,” the crane operator responds, shoving his hands on the pockets of his ripped jeans and maintaining eye contact. “Just if you want to.”

He’s still not sure of how is she going to respond to this, as the only thing she has done so far is ask questions rather than rejecting him or accepting his proposal. The only emotions the muscular man sees in her face are surprise and confusion, until the brightest beam he’s seen so far in her beautiful face spreads across her glossy, pastel pink lips.

“We could try, yeah,” the girl replies, in a quiet and sweet voice.

Gary grins, barely able to contain his excitement. His chest puffs unconsciously while he enjoys looking at Minni’s blue irises twinkle, her smile reaching her eyes. He guesses it’s mutual, then.

“If things go well, we could couple up in the next Recoupling,” he suggests, grounding himself and being realistic. They have to take it slow if they want this to work.

The only thing Minni can do for now is nod, as the turmoil of both new and old emotions leaves her out of words. The change from being so upset and thinking that she was less than other girls in the Villa, to now feel on top of the world at the knowledge that Gary still fancies her and that she was his _first choice_ becomes a lot for her to take in. She doesn’t want to think of anything, she doesn’t want to start jumping into conclusions like she always does— she wants to have the opportunity to simply enjoy the moment. Not knowing what to do next, the young woman throws herself onto Gary’s body, wrapping her arms around his waist, just like she did days ago when she didn’t know how to express her feelings properly.

Although he is startled by her gesture at first, the blond man _understands_. He didn’t expect all of this either and is glad that the feelings are mutual. While he gives Minni time to sort her emotions, he returns the hug, one hand going up to cup the back of her head.

“I reckon all of this Recoupling mess is a lot to deal with,” he says, comprehensive. He places his strong chin on top of her head as he envelopes her small back in his arms, his hug being cozy and reassuring. “We can talk more about this tomorrow, alright?”

Sinking onto him, Minni leans her forehead on his chest, smelling his minty scent and feeling the vibrations of his deep voice when he speaks. “That sounds good,” she agrees. The girl waits for a couple of seconds before lifting her face up to look at him. “We could talk first thing in the morning.”

“Of course, Mins,” Gary says, looking down to meet her eyes. He offers her a soft smile. “Now let’s go get some sleep. We need a good rest and I’m sure you’re quite knackered,” he adds, gently brushing some chocolate-brown strands away from her face. “We can talk tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally those two were able to exchange a few words omg♥ let's see what happens next though, because things in Day 14 get messy yet again :3 as i said before, thanks for the support✧･ﾟ: * you all help me keep this fic going and i really appreciate it. see you next chapter✿


	13. Day 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If there’s one thing that stands out in the crane operator’s reasoning is keeping things grounded; he knows that the chances of her getting her head turned or meeting a bloke who she truly fancies while she is away are high, especially considering that there’s not one but six new men available, who will surely be all over her because she’s a proper sort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello beautiful people.｡.:*☆ i'm finally able to update this fic omg, it feels like i haven't put a new chapter in ages hahaha. i blame uni classes and having to write Casa Amor, which all of us know that is a total pain in the ass lol. thanks for all the support this fic has been getting and i hope you're liking how the story is going so fars✿✼:*ﾟ i hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Day 14**

**In the Villa’s bedroom – Early morning.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbHypHBX8W0)**

The faint sound of Minni’s phone amongst the boys snores wakes her up in a heartbeat, mostly thanks to her light sleep. Dazed from slumber, she lazily peels her blue eyes open, just to find Lucas’ broad frame next to her, breathing gently. The young woman takes a second to move her hands towards her face and presses her soft fingers against her puffy eyelids, feeling a bit numb from just having woken up. Then, she lifts her head and notices that it’s still dark outside, which only confuses her while she blindly pats her nightstand to find her phone.

Squinting because of the harsh light of the screen, the brunette reads the text. <Minerva, today you and the girls are going on a mini break. You must all get ready and meet at the entrance without waking the boys. #catsaway #micegonnaplay.>

Just when she finishes reading, she hears another phone beep quietly across the room, and then another, and another. With her curious sight scanning the dark bedroom, Minni wonders if everyone is getting the same text as her. One by one, just the girls wake up and sit up in their beds, most of them equally puzzled and giving each other questioning looks.

“What’s this about then?” Chelsea asks with a normal volume and her mouth hanging open in surprise.

Hope is fast to shoot her a poisonous glare from her bed, her slim eyebrows forming a frown. “Shhh!”

After the sixth phone beeps, they stop and, for a moment, nobody makes a noise. Chelsea covers her mouth at Hope’s reprimand, to force herself to keep quiet even though the only thing she wants to do is talk and ask all the questions she has swarming in her head. Beside her, Gary stops snoring, hiccups loudly, then rolls over and continues snoring. The blonde girl lets out a relieved sigh when she notices that she didn’t wake him up.

Once they make sure all the boys are still sleeping soundly, Hope decides to whisper loudly, “Girls. Dressing room, now.”

With that, Minni concludes that all of them must’ve gotten the same text. A sudden rush of excitement strikes her, making her eager to find out what all of this is about and why it has such a secretive atmosphere to it. So, without wasting any more time, she is careful to slip out of bed as not to wake Lucas— she would’ve liked to commando roll out of the bed just for the fun of it, but there’s no way she’s going to ruin the operation or risk it by the boys noticing that they’re gone. Silently, she tiptoes her way to the dressing room to join the girls, her usual fuzzy socks quenching her already light footsteps against the tiles.

The girls expeditiously start getting changed and putting on their makeup, as they chat about how funny it will be when the boys notice that they’re gone. Nobody has a clue what all of this is about, but the mystery also makes all of this seem more thrilling, like a small secret vacation in the middle of another vacation. In any case, Minni guesses that it must be just a girls’ only day in a fancy spa or at the beach, knowing that the text explicitly says ‘mini break’; she’s sure it will be a fun activity to catch up and get their spirits up after the mess of a Recoupling that happened last night, and that they will probably be back this evening.

After a while, the room is silent as everyone get down to work, quickly, just the tiny sounds of makeup being put against the vanity, brushes, clicks of compartments, fabrics and zippers filling the dressing room. The physics student gets ready in no time, her experience of hurriedly changing and doing her makeup when she’s running late for her morning classes helping her a lot in this situation. She finishes a little before the other girls and ends up boringly sitting in her bean bag in front of her place in the vanity, watching as the rest hurries and doing practically nothing for a couple of minutes.

In that moment, an idea flashes in her mind, striking her like white lightning at the realization. Last night she and Gary finally got to have a few words in private and agreed to talk this morning about how they wanted to plan on how they will going to make things work from now on, and now they won’t be able to have that chat at the time they planned to because, by then, the girls will be long gone and starting their mystery trip. Perhaps waking him up to say goodbye would be a good idea, Minni thinks.

Whilst she ponders her options, the young brunette’s heart flutters, particularly when she recalls their brief chat of last night— she can’t believe that she was Gary’s first choice for that Recoupling. She still feels so blissed by his confession that she does her best to push away her doubts about it, and why all of the sudden he decided that she didn’t fancy Lottie more than her. A small smile forms in the blue-eyed girl’s lips at the thought that finally things could start going the way she wants, that eventually all of this _could_ work and that, after all this time, they could get their feelings out in the open and couple up again in the future. Needless to say, since they got separated by Priya, she’s had the persistent sensation that she belongs to Gary somehow and that she should’ve always been with him, despite everything that’s happened between them.

Driven by delight, the young woman sneaks out of the dressing room and tiptoes back into the bedroom. In there, a mix of different volume snores and deep grumbles reverberate, the dim light of dawn that comes through the slits of the curtains illuminates the line of beds. All the boys seem to be sleeping heavily, few of them moving on their mattresses and tangled in white bedsheets, completely oblivious to the fact that all the girls are gone. She chuckles internally at how unaware all of them are.

As silent as possible, Minni creeps over to Gary’s bed and kneels down next to his face, her forearms resting in top of the mattress on the space between the two. She doesn’t remember when was the last time she saw him fast asleep and wonders if she found him this _cute_ back then. Although the crane operator is a big, strong and rugged man, his hair and beard appear to be softer this way, his pale locks all messy and sticking to his brow; they look more like light-colored feathers instead of his usual spiky texture accompanied with a prickly stubble. His mouth being closed doesn’t stop the low snores that escape his throat, rumbling on his chest. The girl finds it funny how his thick and dark eyebrows are slightly knitted together, a small wrinkle forming between them. She smirks at the adorable sight of him.

A few seconds of dumb admiration on her part pass before she takes the decision to whisper, as quietly as she can. “Hey, Gary.”

The muscular man shifts a bit at the sound and stops snoring altogether, but seems to be still in deep sleep.

“Gary, wake up,” the brunette tries once more.

At last, the crane operator opens one tired eye, the girl’s sweet voice having trespassed the fuzzy and clouded walls of his slumber mind. He can’t contain the smile that forms on his face when he sees Minni crouching down beside his bed, her chin placed over the small portion of mattress that separates them along with her arms crossed in front of him. The beautiful student’s big eyes stare at him attentively, her fresh raspberry perfume lingering near his nose— she’s all dolled up, he notices. The way she is right there in front of him is almost dreamlike and completely unexpected. What a sight to wake up to, he reckons.

“Oh, hey,” Gary murmurs with a raspy morning voice, not having much time to process things or to question why she’s there.

Minni beams. “Listen, we don’t have much time,” she begins saying. “Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but the girls are going off on a secret trip.”

A crease forms between Gary’s eyebrows again, this time being deeper as he looks at her in confusion. “Oh, woah, is everyone gone?” He asks as he cranes his neck and looks around the room. All of the beds are half-empty, with just the boys in them and the rest of the girls nowhere to be seen. Next, his sleepy crystal blue eyes go back to Minni. “You lot are like cats. I’ve got no idea how you did that without making any noise,” he smirks, sluggish.

His lighthearted comment makes her giggle quietly. “It helps that you guys sleep like sack of potatoes,” she replies. “Especially you.”

“Oi,” Gary chuckles at her teasing. A brief silence follows, with him taking special attention in the way her glittery eye makeup twinkles in the dim light and the corners of her lips turn upwards when she smiles. “So where are you going?”

“We don’t know— we’re just leaving and it’s meant to be secret,” the blue-eyed girl responds. “But the text says we’re going on a ‘mini break’, so I guess it’s a day at the beach or at the spa, something like that,” she explains, excited at the idea of having a fun day out of the Villa. “I came here to say goodbye just in case we arrive really late today, since you and I were planning on talking about… you know.”

Regardless of the vague early morning light, Gary can see how her freckled cheekbones blush with pink color. With his smile widening, the crane operator’s large and calloused hand flies to cup her cheek, the muscles of his arms bulking at the movement. “You’re blushing already,” he teases, mischievous.

His thumb lightly traces her smooth skin as he maintains his confident smirk. Now that he knows Minni still fancies him, even if it could be just a bit, he surely feels like he has his cheeky mojo back. He feels more like when he first arrived to the Villa, and not like the somehow smothered man he started to become on the inside. The fact that there’s this small chance that this gorgeous bird could become _his_ makes him have the sensation that he could take over the world.

“Hush,” Minni pouts, embarrassed that he unexpectedly has left her out of cheeky comebacks. As time passed, their constant flirting was reduced to just friendly interactions, so all of this feels kind of new, refreshing, like they somehow are starting from scratch.

Realizing that they don’t have enough time to savor their private moment together, Gary’s smile falls a little when he decides to snap out of his state of rapture and get talking. “We can have a word later today. I’m sure it won’t be long until you girls come back,” he declares, caressing her face with the rough pad of his thumb. “I have lots of things to say and I don’t reckon rushing it will be good.”

“Yeah, me too,” the girl agrees, leaning onto his touch.

“We’ll all be here waiting for you when you get back,” Gary reassures. He has trust on himself that he will be fine with being patient enough to wait until the girls get back from their trip.

Suddenly, a quick feeling of worrisome flashes across Minni’s eyes. “What if they’re making us go away so they can bring a new girl in, and she tempts you all away?” she asks, her lips forming a slight pout like whenever she’s questioning something.

This only makes Gary look at her with more adoration. There’s no way he could get his head turned now, he’s sure about that, less after realizing that they are getting back on track. “There’s not a girl in the world they could bring in here who’d hold a candle at you,” the blond man reassures.

“Correct answer, Gar,” Minni beams, feeling better. With that same content expression she reaches across and ruffles his pale hair. His bed head feels softer, as she figured. “You cutie. Have fun while we’re gone.”

“I’ll try,” the man responds, his smile falling a bit.

“Oy, quiet down over there.” They abruptly hear Bobby groaning, covered all the way up with his duvet.

The brunette girl just smirks and hisses out a giggle. Not even a second passes before the other girls’ almost imperceptible footsteps can be heard across the hallway, all of them probably ready now and heading towards the exit. Minni’s eyes dart towards the door and then back at Gary.

“Okay. I have to go,” she says in a hurry. Even when she’s in a rush and saying goodbye, her silky voice sounds chill and animated. “Bye!”

After that, Minni plants a single and lingering kiss on Gary’s bearded cheek, his golden hair tickling her face. This is something she’s been waiting to do for a while without having to think much about it, and hopes to make it a habit. The only way he responds for a second is smiling widely, his crystal blue eyes lighting up. The touch of her plumped lips phantoms on his skin and leaves a small mark of strawberry gloss, causing him to blush indistinctly at the gesture.

“See ya! Have fun!”

“I will,” the blue-eyed girl answers. She sneaks one of those cheeky winks of hers before disappearing through the bedroom’s door.

**In the Villa’s kitchen – Morning.**

While lazily rubbing one of his eyes, Gary pours his recently brewed tea on a navy-blue mug. Blurry and clear steam floats upwards from the dark liquid, whirling in the thin morning air, and he watches it drift until it fades, his body feeling slightly tired. Should he add some milk to it? He’s not quite sure. His light blue eyes go to the fridge and then back at his cuppa, indecisive.

After getting a couple of more hours of sleep, he woke up all of the sudden to find himself already impatient for the girls to come back. He stayed still on his bed for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling as the Spanish daylight replaced the neon colors that illuminated the dark bedroom, with the rest of the boys fast asleep around him. Later on, he convinced himself that it was Noah’s loud snores, and surely not some kind of weird indiscernible gut feeling he had, what didn’t let him get some more rest. So, without waiting for too long, he decided to get up and make himself some breakfast, as he waited for his mates to wake up.

Gary finally settles on adding milk to his cuppa, all of his tasks delivered in a slow and calm manner. The smell of newly made tea and milk reminds him to his nan’s place, in where there’s always a warm cuppa waiting for his arrival. During his two weeks in Love Island, the crane operator has tried not to get nostalgic and homesick about it all, choosing to remember home happily and jokingly instead, but in quiet moments like this, when he doesn’t have a distraction or someone to snap him out of it, he can’t help but to miss _everything_ about his life in Chatham, despite having luxuries he could’ve never imagined of here in the Villa. He wonders how’s his nan doing on his absence— he asks himself if his mate Dicky still drives her to bingo as he promised to do while Gary is away.

“Oi, Gary!”

The blond man almost drops the milk because of the startling call. With an unusual and meaningful angry glare for almost having his cuppa ruined, he turns around to see Lucas walking towards the kitchen, confusion all over his chiseled features.

“Where are the girls?” the physiotherapist says, his dark eyes scanning the entirety of the lawn.

His question catches Gary unprepared, and he doesn’t know what excuse to come up with since Minni asked him not to tell anyone. “I, um… I—”

“Hey, guys, did you notice that the girls are gone?” Both men hear Noah ask, his voice raspy by just having woken up, with Bobby, Jakub and Ibrahim walking right behind him.

“That was what I was asking, mate. They’re nowhere to be seen,” Lucas responds and shrugs as he takes another analytical look at the Villa.

“Are they _all_ gone?” Jakub questions, stitching his pale eyebrows together.

“Yes, bruv, all of them,” Ibrahim states, puzzled.

“There’s no way they could’ve gone away without us noticing. We don’t sleep _that_ heavily, come on,” Bobby says, incredulous and skeptical about the situation. He squints his honey-colored eyes and scrunches his nose, deep in thought. “They must be _somewhere_ in the Villa and this has to be just a silly joke. Ugh, I bet this prank was Minni’s idea,” he continues, his thoughtful expression becoming a scowl. “Girls!”

Most of the boys grimace at his sudden scream, particularly because of how it pierces the calm morning atmosphere, but the pastry chef seems to ignore them, his hands still on at either side of his mouth to amplify the sound.

“Bobby, I don’t think yell—” Noah tries to say, but is cut short by another screech.

“Girls! Come out, come out, wherever you are!” Bobby keeps shouting, this time also while opening one by one the kitchen’s cupboards and then the pantry.

“I don’t think they could fit in there, mate,” Lucas doubts in a quiet voice.

Ignoring him, the Scottish man is determined on finding the girls. After opening all of the cabinets, drawers, cupboards and even the oven, for some weird reason, his frown deepens when he walks to the middle of the lawn, now being in complete denial. “Girls! Stop hiding!”

The rest of the boys follow him, all still dressed in their pajamas, their torsos bare and with disheveled bed heads. Most of them squint at the harsh sunlight as soon as they step out of the kitchen. Gary remains calm, his cuppa cradled between his hands meanwhile he follows his mates without saying a word, itching to tell them what’s going on but also unable to do so because of what he promised to Minni.

Ibrahim sighs at his friend’s outburst. “Bobby…”

“Girls! Come on, this is not funny!”

This time, Noah is the one who tries to talk. “I reckon—”

“Girls!”

Just when he finishes what would be his last yell, the pastry chef turns his head to see his fellow Islanders staring angrily at him for not keeping quiet and letting them speak. Different sets of colored eyes look at him, equally annoyed; all except for Gary, who hides behind his optical frames as not to appear suspicious.

When everyone is silent, the librarian takes a deep breath and exhales. Next, he finishes his previous phrase, “I reckon they’re gone, man.”

As if it has been on cue, the sound of a familiar notification pierces the air. Lucas feels his phone vibrating in his pocket, so he takes it out and reads the announcement text out loud.

<Boys, we’ve sent the girls away on a mini break to Casa Amor. They’re going to spend the next few days getting to know six new boys. This also means six new girls will arrive to the Villa. Prepare to meet your new Islanders. #boyswillbeboys #headswillturn.>

Following that, the male Islanders look at each other in shock. Gary feels his stomach sink, like if it gets suddenly stuffed with nothing but a bunch of heavy rocks. He can’t wrap his head around the idea that he and Minni have just agreed on making things work, that they were about to have the open chat they both needed so much and that wanted to have for the longest time, and now she won’t be back in the Villa until a _few days_ — the text doesn’t even specify how long they will be gone. _Mini break_ , it just says.

He was a fool, he reckons, for not suspecting that they were being taken away to another place for a longer time than just one day, but also there was no major clue about it. He should’ve made the most out of the small private time they had together this early morning, he should’ve told her at least something that could’ve given away where his head is at and how much he fancies her, something beyond just wanting to couple up with her. He should’ve _kissed her_ for good measure.

In a split second, a rapid wave of thoughts and worries flash on his mind. Will Minni come back to the Villa with a new lad? What if she finds a better match for her in Casa Amor? What if she _forgets_ about him? If there’s one thing that stands out in the crane operator’s reasoning is keeping things grounded; he knows that the chances of her getting her head turned or meeting a bloke who she truly fancies while she is away are high, especially considering that there’s not one but _six_ new men available, who will surely be all over her because she’s a proper sort. Besides, she’s currently in a friendship couple with Lucas and she and Gary haven’t been coupled up since day two, leaving practically the doors open for her to graft on whoever she wants and to romance someone new. If she does, the blond Chatham man doesn’t know how he will be able to move on, but is sure that he will never hold it against her.

Without giving him more time to think, he feels a heavy and strong pat on his back. His crystal blue sight goes to Rahim, who is standing at his side and who pats him once again to get his full attention, his eyes wide as he points urgently at the Villa’s doors with his large, dark-skinned hand. Just then, Gary looks at where he’s pointing at and sees six eye-catching birds sauntering towards them, walking confidently across the green grass of the lawn.

For a moment, Gary thinks his eyes are deceiving him— they’re all incredibly hot and, all of the sudden, he feels like a kid in a candy store. His orbs light up whilst he follows Jakub and Lucas in hot pursuit, both of them having already taken several steps in the direction of the new girls.

Eager to meet all of them, the muscular blond’s mind fuzzes and his worries get stored in the back of his mind for later analysis. A cheeky side smirk forms on his lips while he tries to play it cool, approaching them in a friendly and warm manner. When he notices a few of them shamelessly checking him out, he surely feels his ego skyrocket and his confidence boost.

“Good morning, girls,” Jakub’s voice thunders, his frame towering the new arrivals as he gets closer.

“Alright, ladies?” Gary greets, puffing his chest and slightly tightening his arm muscles so they appear bigger than they are. “Welcome to the Villa!”

The new Islanders are most definitely an assured bunch, all of them being very distinguishable. There’s a curvy redhead, a dark-skinned petite with braided hair, a couple of slim brunettes, a dark-skinned tall blonde and one with eccentric green hair, their flirty looks and wide smiles, probably caused by their excitement of finally being in the Villa, make them look even more attractive and pleasing to the eye.

The perplexed and confused ambiance that the place had after the text arrived is replaced with enthusiastic greetings, hugs and air kisses whereas the boys keenly welcome the new girls. Once everyone has properly introduced themselves, Gary takes a step forward, being welcoming and stretching a broad smile.

“So, girls. I guess you’ll be waiting for the grand tour,” he says, friendly. “I’d be chuffed to show you around. How about we start with the pool area, eh?”

**At Casa Amor’s lawn – Noon.**

“That’s amazing! I always thought most people wrote the lyrics first and then the beat,” Minni smiles, as she leans forward to meet Kassam’s eyes. Even though he’s not shown huge interest in her, the girl is willing to continue the candid small talk with him, mainly to get to know everyone. “Although, honestly, I know nothing about music. My brother says I’m tone deaf, which I don’t think it’s _completely_ true. That’s why he tried to teach me how to play the drums.”

The girls’ arrival to Casa Amor has been a complete shift from the Villa, and not just speaking of the change of physical place. Getting to know six new guys has kept Minni mostly distracted from thinking about the boys that are still back on the Villa and the possibility that there’s also six new girls in there now, even if Gary crosses her mind from time to time. The brunette student is overly happy by the idea of meeting new people alone, and everything has become better for her when most of them are being keen on her and openly expressed that they fancy her— this is the kind of attention she used to get on her first days in Love Island, something that lifts her spirits after all the unnecessary drama that keeps following her.

She would be lying if she said that none of the Casa Amor boys has caught her eye already, at least in the slightest. All of them are fit and so different that she feels indecisive on who she’d rather get to know first. Arjun, a dog groomer from Indian heritage, is all cheeky and confident, which she likes, but she’s not sure if she rates how forward he is. Next, there’s Elijah, a dark-skinned model; Minni doesn’t know if she should go there because Chelsea is already infatuated by him and is all enthusiastic on getting to know him. Following, there’s Graham, a hunk fisherman. Some girls weirdly point out that he looks like Gary, a resemblance that Minni can’t grasp. He’s the type of lad the young student would go for but he seems too interested in Marisol that, yet again, the blue-eyed girl prefers to let go in favor of Girl Code, even if Marisol doesn’t believe in it herself. Then there’s Kassam, a mysterious DJ who is so hard to read that she sees him as kind of a fun challenge. And next there’s Felix, the youngest boy in the cast, who doesn’t look like has much experience into this dating thing. The Cantabrigian finds him odd and quite annoying, but somehow has a laugh when seeing him squirm and talk lots of nonsense, and sometimes she wishes she could help him. Finally, there’s Carl, the oldest boy out of the bunch. He’s a tech entrepreneur and totally Minni’s type on the physical aspect. During the brief chat they shared on their speed date, she noticed that he seems to know a lot about math and data and all the things she’s into, which is great. The brunette girl reckons she should definitely try to get closer to him, but, despite him being positively eye-catching to her, she’d prefer to get to know everyone first before making a decision.

After a quick round of speed dating, everyone has settled to chat by the pool, some of the boys giving her eager looks as if they were waiting for their turn to talk to her, whilst, curiously, Minni is nonchalantly speaking with the quietest of the entire group: Kassam, a closed-off techno DJ, who’s following the chat, slowly and reluctantly realizing that the Cantabrigian is more charming, sparkly and pretty in person than he saw on the telly.

“That’s cool. So your brother knows about music?” Kassam’s eyes light up faintly as he finally takes a higher interest in her responses.

The blue-eyed girl nods, casually moving her milky-white legs, which are dangling in the pool as they’re sat on the border. “Yes. He’s very talented, and I’m not saying that just because he’s my older bro. He’s hell of a musician and plays lots of instruments, but is mostly a drummer,” she smiles proudly. “He’s so good he’s friends with this famous drummer— I don’t know if you know her, her name is Ry.”

In that instant, the boy’s expression changes and he forms a smile. “Oh, yeah, I know her,” he answers. “She’s my celebrity crush, if I’m honest.”

Minni beams at his declaration. “Then I could give you her number when we’re out of here,” she winks.

Just when Kassam is about to reply, they hear an animated voice from behind them. “Hey, you two!”

The pair turns around to see Felix standing right beside the edge of the pool, wiggling his eyebrows. Quickly, the blue-haired boy sits between them and shifts on his place to take a better look at Minni. The girl, being naïve and welcoming as always, just smiles at him, not minding the interruption even though he’s proven to be mostly exasperating. Kassam rolls his eyes and lets out a quiet breath, glancing at the rest of the Islanders who are gathered nearby. Graham notices the club promoter’s not-so-subtle way of getting in the middle of the conversation and throws a mocking smirk at the techno DJ.

“What are you talking about?” Felix asks.

“Oh, we were just talking about music,” Minni responds with a kind voice tone.

The younger boy’s eyes open a little wider and he inches a little closer, confidently but also in an awkward way. “Music, huh? I reckon you should know that I’m a DJ, too.”

The brunette girl blinks a couple of times before answering. “Yes, you told me that already, remember?”

Kassam grumbles under his breath, “I figured.”

Without paying him attention, Felix is awkwardly fidgeting with a pair of sunglasses, his eyes fixed on the girl next to him. “Sure, now I remember,” he says as he scratches his head, trying to dissimulate that he’s lying.

“So what? You also know about astrophysics too now?” Kassam inquires, raising an eyebrow. He’s sure Felix is not a DJ and that he’s using it to seem more appealing and interesting to the girls.

“Hell no. I’m more of an _artist_ myself,” the blue-haired boy replies, gaining his overly assured attitude back. Next, he turns to the brunette girl. “I leave that brainy stuff for brilliant people like Minni,” he adds with a clumsy and exaggerated wink.

Despite having him make finger guns right after winking at her, Minni still feels flattered by the compliment, values his efforts. She knows that this guy, much like Jakub, is a little uncomfortable to hang out with, but also overall harmless. The young student surely appreciates the good intentions behind his phrase, despite not fancying him a bit.

“Thank you,” she giggles, taking the compliment graciously.

With the belief and hope that his _amazing_ grafting techniques are working on the fittest girl in here, just because accepted his compliment, Felix puffs his chest and decides to keep the conversation going. As he always does, he speaks before thinking, and just says the first thing that comes to mind, “Tell me, why did you choose astrophysics? You must like aliens a lot, don’t you?”

As soon as she hears his questions, Minni’s face falls drastically, a sudden rush of unexpected anger brewing inside her veins at a fast pace. The rest of the girls, who have been eavesdropping and having fun while listening to Felix’s inept attempts, share a worried look. A while ago, during their firsts days at the Villa, they saw the same reaction coming from Minni when Bobby, without fully knowing the blue-eyed girl yet, tried to pull the same comment as a quirky joke. After the student’s long rant, the topic was practically banned from the Villa— for some strange reason that few of them comprehend, the girl always gets triggered when someone tries to relate her career to aliens.

“Ugh, you believe in that too, don’t you?” Minni asks, her eyes piercing Felix’s as she tries to hide her discontent.

The young boy is left out of words at her change of attitude. He opens his mouth to reply, but no words come out. This gives Minni’s annoyance time to completely develop and soon, she’s rambling about why she gets irritated by the topic, just like she did back when Bobby mentioned it.

“I don’t know why people think that we, astrophysicists, are into _aliens_. Honestly I don’t get it,” she starts saying with an exasperated sigh.

Her characteristic enthusiasm when talking about her studies shifts, and now all her energy turns into a displeased sentiment, being somewhat unnecessarily indignant at the comment just because it hit a nerve. The girls start stifling laughs at the anticipation of Felix’s downfall, the boy bound to take the full force of Minni’s rant.

“That just proves that everyone has a misconception on most science sub-topics. I get this _all the time_ , and I didn’t mind at first but now it’s been said to me so many times that it only shows that people and media spread stereotypes to simplify science, which doesn’t help in understanding it and does the opposite of educating people who are not necessarily involved in it,” she frowns and then rolls her eyes. The brunette knows deep down that her lecture is disproportionate, but the topic brings a smaller form of Volcano Minni to the surface, all triggered by that mention alone. “I’m not saying that everyone should know, but the word ‘astrophysics’ says it.”

Joining the other girls, the Casa Amor boys also begin to hold back laughter, entertained by the scenario. It’s very rare to see Minni upset, less this angry, and the fact that is Felix, the most annoying of the group, the one who is the target of her fuming makes the scene even funnier to them. The only one who decides to take a different approach to the situation is Carl, who instead of laughing is analyzing the blue-eyed girl’s words.

“I have to agree with Minni on that,” the tech entrepreneur declares, getting into the conversation. He sits on the sun chair he was lying on not too far away, and strokes his chin, deep in thought. “It just takes to notice that astrophysics has the word ‘physics’ after the ‘astro’,” the man points out.

After pondering his statement, Minni’s bitter stare softens a little. She definitely likes how smart this bloke is, her sight meeting his. “Exactly. If I liked aliens, I would be studying astro _biology_ , not astro _physics_. We, the physicists, mainly describe the observational data of astronomy as consequences of the physical laws that we know of,” she continues, now feeling unable to stop speaking, especially knowing that someone in here _understands_ and gets what she’s trying to say. Her mild wrath starts evolving into her typical enthusiasm, all because of Carl’s knowing attitude. “Astrobiology studies the origin and evolution of life in the universe— _that’s_ for alien fans. They’re two different sciences, mate.”

Also liking the direction their chat is going to, the brunet man decides to follow, a small smile forming on his pale lips whilst he returns the knowledgeable girl’s look. Ever since he watched Love Island, he’s had an eye on her mostly because how smart and schooled she is. He’s glad that she’s just as intelligent in person as she appears to be on television.

With his smile widening, Carl decides to continue and display all his cards on the table to get her complete attention. “Astrobiologists study the about the possible existence of life on another planets, even in the so-called exoplanets. Astrophysicists, for example, study the evolution of a star by evaluating, maybe, the function of the nuclear reaction that said star has inside.”

“Nerd,” Graham snorts under his breath, making Marisol elbow him so he doesn’t interrupt. This causes the bulky man to let out a small yelp.

The rest of the Islanders share quizzical looks, some of them totally lost due to their words. Either way, most of them are still having fun while witnessing the scene, more so now considering that Felix’s attempts to flirt with Minni have completely failed and that, on top of that, she’s evidently taking interest in Carl and ignoring the younger boy entirely.

Not even noticing the other people around them, Minni’s eyes light up, raw excitement visible on them. She feels like she hasn’t had this type of science talk with someone who knows about it in such a long time, essentially for being in the Villa. “Y-You know about exoplanets, Carl?” she asks in awe.

“Yes. I had to make a statistics arrangement study when I was in uni, and I chose their data because they provide an extent and interesting amount of characteristics to sort, filter and rearrange,” he responds, not minding to use complicated words because he reckons she will get him.

The accuracy of his quote makes the young student gasp. “They do,” she simply replies.

As she maintains her amazed gaze on Carl, her stomach gradually begins to flutter, the sensation becoming more noticeable to her when realizing how clever he is— she hasn’t had this level of attraction towards anyone, no other Islander making her feel this way, except for Gary. Minni’s thoughts about the boys at the Villa dissipate thoroughly meanwhile Carl meets her blue eyes.

A couple of seconds pass before she willingly snaps out of it, now all calmed down after her angry outburst at Felix. After smoothing her brunette locks to shake off the fuzzy and content feeling in her face, as to avoid blushing, the girl turns back to the club promoter.

“I surely don’t deny aliens’ existence and I reckon they’re interesting, but— no, I’m not into aliens… um, in case you didn’t notice,” she finally answers his question in a more comforted tone, her facial expression showing evident sheepishness. She now feels bad if she somehow made Felix feel dumb about it all.

For some reason, the young boy seems to forget all of Minni’s rambling and irritated attitude from before and decides to keep chatting her up in no time, introducing another topic. Weirdly confident as always, the blue-haired boy makes several and exaggerated hand gestures as he tells her an obviously made-up story about that one time a widely recognized Hollywood celebrity asked him to perform his music at their birthday party. Valuing his efforts once again, Minni decides to tag along and listen to his nonsensical narrative, but the thought that she most definitely fancies Carl now never leaves her mind, just as the raven-haired man stares at her from the sun chair he’s sitting at, not too far away, his blue eyes following her with genuine appreciation.

**In the Villa's lawn – Afternoon.**

The boys are all hanging out by the pool, wearing their best swimming suits and looks, tanning under the warm Spanish sun while getting to know the new girls, when the unexpected sound of a text resonates over the excited chatter.

“I got a text!” Gary exclaims from his sun lounger.

He’s all stretched on his spot, his pale skin glowing because of the sun cream he recently applied and his muscles cockily bulging with every move he makes, catching the attention of three of the new girls, Blake, Cassie and Ramona, who are sitting around him and trying to chat him up.

Gary is not one to notice this kind of things, like when girls are trying to have some alone time with him and when their compliments could mean something beyond being friendly, but Blake has been so evident on her intentions to graft him that, despite quite enjoying her attention, he can’t help but to plan taking some distance later on to let her know that he’s not interested, although the young man doesn’t want to make her feel like he’s straight out avoiding her either. In honest words, the Chathamite doesn’t want to give her signs that could make her think that he’s leading her on, when his mind is evidently somewhere else, constantly thinking about a certain blue-eyed, freckled physics student that he already misses so much even if she’s just been absent half a day, something he’s not quite comfortable admitting to himself.

Putting all of this thoughts aside, he’s having lots of fun by getting to know the new girls, even if none of them has caught his eye and he’s now mainly aiming at friendly conversations. Now that his initial and exuberant excitement of meeting new birds, mostly testosterone or lad driven, has died down, Gary, being the chill guy that he is, has decided to go along with the flow once again, ignoring the fact that this hasn’t completely worked in his favor so far.

“Boys, it’s time to go upstairs and pack a suitcase for your respective partner. Make sure to pack their essentials for several days and feel free to add some cheeky gifts. Once you’ve finished, place them all at the entrance. #forgetmenots, #getpacking,” the blond man reads out loud, once all the Islanders are gathered around him.

All the men exchange confused looks, but don’t waste time in heading towards the dressing room and carrying their partner’s suitcase towards the bedroom to start packing their stuff, considering that the girls’ things are still here and that they didn’t have time to pack anything for their day-lengthy vacation away from the Villa before sneaking away this early morning.

Easily carrying Chelsea’s pink suitcase with one hand, Gary passes by the row of beds and settles in on top of their mattress. While he neatly folds some of her clothes, just the way his nan taught him to, he takes a peek at Lucas, who’s working on Minni’s suitcase in the bed next to him. What gets the crane operator’s attention is noticing that he’s opening and closing the young woman’s sunglasses cases one by one, to take a look inside and decide which pair to pack.

After realizing that he’s struggling, Gary decides to speak. “The blue ones are her favorite,” he simply says.

Surprised by his intervention, Lucas lifts his sight to meet the younger man’s blue eyes, while still holding one of the cases. “Which blue ones? There’s like a dozen in here,” the physiotherapist pouts, conflicted. His large and smooth hands motion to the more than fifty sunglasses cases, all scattered over the duvet.

The muscular blond conceals a smile. “The blue and yellow frames. They’re stored in a denim case, if I remember correctly,” he begins to explain, even surprising himself to have memorized those small details about Minni without meaning to. “She also loves the transparent ones, and they must be in that case over there,” Gary continues, pointing at a shiny metallic case at the far left. “And make sure to pack her glitter makeup thing, she uses it a lot with those.”

Right when he finishes speaking, he almost feels embarrassed of how much he already knows about Minni, especially for the way Lucas stares at him, positively impressed by the blond’s knowledge and attention to her details. After thanking him for his help, the Asian man decides to follow his instructions just to make his packing job easier, since he was kind of struggling because he barely knows the girl.

Later on and having gone through his own struggle to choose things to pack in Chelsea’s suitcase, because he also scarcely knows her, Gary decides to take a breather and spends a few seconds curiously glancing around the communal bedroom. The place has become a mess, all the boys similarly confused and some talking to each other to get opinions and advice.

“You’re packing her socks?” Ibrahim asks Bobby, perplexed.

The pastry chef shrugs. “They’re not just socks, pal. They’re my favorite pair. And they’re even clean,” he beams, proudly wiggling a pair of bright orange socks in the air.

That gives Gary the idea to collect some of Chelsea’s mementos to pack; he reckons he should send her something meaningful too, even if they’re not romantic or don’t know each other very well, and hopes she appreciates his gesture. He starts pacing around the Villa and he manages to find the cork of the first bottle of bubbly they opened, a daisy chain she made on her first date and gather a bunch of other things that surely have a meaning to her, and arranges them at one side of the suitcase.

When the crane operator is just finishing his task, he stumbles upon a pile of Minni’s physics books and can’t bring himself not to look at them fondly. They’re all fancy-looking, maybe not even totally belonging to her but borrowed from her uni’s library. All of them are placed on one corner of the dressing room, next to most of her stuff, and the moment he sees one empty spot in the girl’s organized arrangement he recalls her moping around and looking everywhere for the only notebook he brought with her, just a few days ago.

Just then, a quick idea crosses Gary’s mind, causing him to grab a random eyeliner that he finds on the floor without thinking it twice. Next, he takes out one of the sticky notes the blue-eyed girl uses to mark pages and writes a small, simple note, hoping that this will prevent her to forget about him while she’s away and surrounded by a bunch of new men. He can’t quite grasp the correct words to express his feelings just yet, partially because he doesn’t know what he’s feeling himself, so he settles on capturing a couple of modest ideas by using the black ink of the eyeliner, as he remembers previous chats they had, and particularly a joke Minni made during their second day at the Villa.

_No worries, love. You still have the high ground._

_Have fun!_

_-G._

Rapidly, the muscular crane operator sticks the note to the inside one of the book’s cover and closes it, a somewhat relieved breath leaving his lungs. He sighs once more before heading downstairs, to find that everyone is still in the same chaos as when he left the room to gather Chelsea’s things.

With a cheeky smile, Gary approaches Lucas and hands him the book, with the excuse that Minni would probably want to read while she’s away. The physiotherapist agrees and, without thinking much of it, shoves it in the brunette girl’s case. A triumphant smile gets drawn on Gary’s lips then, as he returns to his spot on the bedroom and finishes his task.

“You’re seriously packing her _that_ , mate?” Bobby speaks, sounding unexpectedly close. When the Chathamite looks up from what he’s doing, he sees the Scottish standing next to Lucas and, subsequently, near him too. It takes him a couple of seconds to notice that Lucas is spraying some of his aftershave on his own underwear, probably with the intentions to put it on Minni’s luggage.

“It’s a _joke_. Minni likes banter, doesn’t she? She’s all about being cheeky,” the physiotherapist answers, nonchalantly. Gary also realizes that he folds a note and one of his shirts along with it, placing it on top of the rest of the girl’s stuff so they’re the first things she sees when she opens her suitcase.

None of the two other men reply to his words, mainly because he doesn’t seem to have any malicious intent, his gesture not being more than a cheeky joke to him. Still, that doesn’t mean that the crane operator likes the idea of Minni finding Lucas’ unwanted underwear amongst her things.

As soon as the Asian man closes the suitcase and carries it out of the bedroom and towards the entrance, Bobby leans towards Gary, trying to talk quietly without anyone noticing. “That’s quite rank,” the pastry chef whispers, pursing his lips. “They’re not close enough for him to do that, I reckon.”

The blond man agrees, and then shakes his head with disappointment. “Don’t worry too much about it, lad. Minni has good character, I’m sure she won’t rage or get offended by it.”

“I guess you’re right,” Bobby shrugs. With that, they end their conversation, both heading different ways to pick their respective partner’s suitcases and take them to the Villa’s tall glass doors.

**In Casa Amor’s bedroom – Afternoon.**

“What in bloody hell is this?” Minni gasps, a deep frown forming on her forehead and between her brunette eyebrows as he holds Lucas’ underwear in the air, by using just two fingers to keep it far away from herself.

The girls turn their attention to her, curious. Sets of different colored eyes, all adorned with diverse styles of makeup, open a little wider when they see the piece of clothing that’s hanging on the brunette’s small hand. Inquisitive, Lottie gets closer and peers into Minni’s case, both girls seeing that a note is in there too, which was under the pants.

“That note looks like it’s been written with my eyeliner,” the Aussie comments in a skeptical voice tone, raising an eyebrow. Since the entire secret kiss debacle, the two of them have maintained great distance and hardly talked to one another. Although the tension died down a while ago, more because of Minni’s lighthearted attitude, they’re not even close to speaking terms.

“Oh my gosh, you’ve got a note?” Chelsea trots towards the two girls and places her hands on Minni’s shoulders to take a better peek.

“Read it out, Minni!” Hope gasps from her bed, enthusiastic.

The young woman’s snub nose scrunches while she reads. “It says ‘Wish you were here’,” she states, letting out a small awkward laugh. She doesn’t know what caused Lucas so send this stuff, but she reckons it’s a bit weird considering how not romantic and even tense things were between the two after the Recoupling. She knows he’s a flirty joker and that he likes teasing and banter, but his move is still odd to her. She obviously wasn’t expecting any of this things.

“It was on a pair of Lucas’ pants!” Lottie sneers.

Marisol turns to look at them, her interested dark eyes squinting because of the smile that appears on her red lips, “That’s so funny. And gross.”

“Oh my gosh, he’s a right sort,” Hope comments with a grin. When she notices that the freckled student doesn’t look amused, she decides to add, “At least they look clean.”

Exhaling a small breath, Minni brings the pants just a little closer and a fragrant smell instantly catches her nose. She realizes he must’ve sprayed them with his aftershave, too. “Alright, I’m definitely grossed out,” she mumbles, not too chuffed, and leaves them in one corner of her suitcase.

Noticing the young woman not being too comfortable with what she found first thing in her case, Marisol takes a few steps closer to her and gives her a shoulder squeeze, “I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Oh, I know,” Minni agrees, absentmindedly fumbling with the things that actually belong to her. “But we agreed to be in a friend couple and this does not look exactly _friendly_ ,” she scrunches her nose again and makes a small pout, confused.

Deciding to drop the topic and move on, the brunette inspects the rest of the luggage that the physiotherapist packed for her. In between her clothing and essentials, she finds a soft shirt of his, something that she actually finds quite cute but is not planning on wearing anytime soon, and is also greatly impressed on the way he managed to pick her favorite pairs of sunglasses to pack. A huge smile forms in her face when she sees her glittery makeup palette stored right next to her beloved transparent sunglasses. It’s a pleasant surprise, and it gives her the sensation that he knows her more than she expected.

To top it all off, Lucas also put one of her physics books in there. Her smile widens as she holds it with both hands, not opening it yet.

“Guys, look! Gary packed the daisy chain I made on my first date,” Chelsea squeals. The interior decorator holds up some green and white mush that looks like it died days ago. “Well, we didn’t make it together, but I left it on the side of the bed. And these are the socks I lent him once…”

With her cobalt eyes unconsciously sparkling at the mention of the crane operator, Minni turns her attention away from her book and gets closer to her bubbly friend. Deep down, she wishes she would’ve gotten something from him too, giving the chat they were planning to have; of course she feels bummed out by not being able to get things out in the open with him again, even more so considering that they won’t see each other in days. But also, they aren’t even coupled up, so it makes sense that the idea of packing a reminder for Minni didn’t cross his mind. Maybe he’s back pedaling now that she’s not in the Villa, the blue-eyed girl worries.

“Sounds like you’ve got lots of memories already, babes,” Minni tells Chelsea, sincerely. She finds it sweet that Gary took the time to collect all those meaningful things for the blonde girl, and speaks lots of good things from him in the student’s eyes.

“Yeah…” Despite trying to look excited, Chelsea is not feeling it too much with Gary. Although he’s immensely fit, he hasn’t caused butterflies in the interior decorator’s belly yet. And, additionally, the more she thinks about the stuff she got from him, the more she doubts. “It has got me a little worried though. You know in the movies when you break up and they give you a box of all the things that belonged to you?”

Lottie knits her eyebrows together un confusion. “Yeah…”

“This is what this feels like!” the blonde girl finishes her idea, slumping her arms at her sides.

Her preoccupation makes Lottie roll her eyes, her annoyance also fueled by the jealousy caused by having her being coupled up with Gary. “Hun, you said yourself that you were up for trying new things in Casa Amor,” the makeup artist points out. Then, she picks up the daisy chain with her slender and pale hands. As she moves it a little, it falls apart in her palms. “Oops,” she says, not feeling too sorry about it. “Well, maybe that’s a sign. Things change just like people change!”

In front of her, Marisol nods, more confident that she’s ever been seen before. “Lottie is right, girls. Let’s stop living in the past with all this stuff. And start living in the now!” The law student declares. “Even if you don’t want to get with any of the new guys… we can still have some fun, right girls?”

Taking a couple of seconds to let her words sink, Minni’s delicate fingers trace her physics book’s cover, until she finally agrees. The brunette reckons she won’t be able to have fun if she starts moping around and overthinking about where Gary’s head could be at. Furthermore, there’s already a Casa Amor guy that has caught her eye, someone who is bound to take her mind out of other boys even if she doesn’t end up coupling up with him— she thinks it’s too early to tell if she would want to switch to him when the time comes and that it would not be wise to make a decision now, but she’s more than willing to see how things go between them.

“Girls, girls, girls!” Lottie chants, leaving her suitcase to a side and heading to the room’s exit with poised steps.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Priya seconds, following the Aussie with equal enthusiasm.

A smirk forms on Minni’s glossy lips whilst she’s still holding her book. Matching the group’s excitement, the young woman saunters happily towards the door, right after leaving her physics book on one of the nightstands. Maybe she’ll have time to read it later, if she’s not too distracted by all the new lads she’s just met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uuuhh :o will space girl's head turn? stay tuned to find out ;) again, thank you guys for the support, especially to the people who comment on every chapter ;) ily all, honestly♥ also, this fic is my child haha so even if it takes me a long time to finish it, i will, so don't worry if i don't update it as often as before, because i'm quite busy with uni and also writing Blue and Hazel at the same time✧･ﾟ: * so if you miss Minni, you can go check her out in that fic too, as it's an AU of her time in the Villa. thank you thank you for reading and see you next chapter✿✼:*ﾟ


	14. Day 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With deep frustration making itself at home in his bones, the crane operator concludes that he’s been digging himself in a deep hole, by ignoring that his heart has belonged to Minni all along. But maybe it isn’t too late for things to work between them, he also hopes, even with this whole Casa Amor problem in the middle— if Minni comes back single, it will definitely be the ultimate sign for Gary to know that things are meant to be. If not, he doesn’t know what he will do with his already smothered heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooooo beautiful peopleeeee✧･ﾟ: * i can't believe it took me a month to update his fic :c but here comes a new chapter for you guys :3 thank you for being so patient and, yet again, i blame Casa Amor being painful to write hahaha. as always, i thank you guys lots for following this fic, especially to those sweet souls who comment, and i promise more surprises to come✿✼:*ﾟ anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter :D

**Day 15**

**In the Villa’s kitchen – Morning**.

“Good morning! How would you like your eggs, ladies?” Bobby says enthusiastically, as he sees three of the new girls, Cassie, Shannon and Ramona, entering the outdoors kitchen area. “The Villa’s head chef McKenzie is wide awake and _friendly_ taking breakfast orders,” he adds with a wink.

Despite that all of the boys are still feeling the absence of the original girls’ in the Villa, most of them have managed to maintain a cheerful and welcoming atmosphere towards the new arrivals. Since yesterday, Bobby has kept himself mostly busy in the kitchen, not interacting much asides from when one or two of them try to approach him and fail to establish a flirtatious conversation, all ending up in friendly interactions. He has kept a nice and polite distance, not because he doesn’t like them or doesn’t want to have fun, but because he’s trying to remain loyal to the original girls and also because he’s feeling somewhat guilty for having Noah and Hope break up after his whole Operation Nope master plan. He knows not all of it it’s his fault, but is still feeling bad for having even taken part on it; he’s so regretful that he even made Noah company on the daybeds last night.

Sitting in front of the counter and holding a colorful bowl of cereal and milk between his paw-like hands, Gary perks up at the sight of the women and offers them a lazy smile. “Alright, girls?” he greets, his dark optical frames slightly sliding down his nose.

The blond man currently feels overly sleepy, although he woke up several minutes ago. Yesterday, after having such a good time at the girls’ welcome party, he felt his energies lower down at a fast pace, perhaps by the fact that he had to process so many things happening during the day. So, before going to bed, he nonchalantly settled down on sharing with Cassie, a tall and skinny brunette, who seems to be the most chill out of the new Islanders and is not too forward with her advances. The crane operator didn’t want to think much of it and never got close to her during the night, preferring to keep his distance; something that was the easiest to do since he shut down like a lightbulb as soon as he settled his head on his pillow.

He didn’t have much time to sort his feelings at the end of the day, and he doesn’t want to do so now either, mostly because he still feels drowsy, slumber lingering on him for some strange reason. The Chathamite groans internally when the worry about what the original girls are doing at Casa Amor comes to mind, a preoccupation that he has been avoiding too— he doesn’t want to overthink about it.

After greeting the pair of boys, both Shannon and Cassie request scrambled eggs and Ramona asks for a sunny side up. While Bobby happily works in their breakfasts, the three girls sit on stools and stay by the counter, patiently waiting as they chat calmly about last night’s welcome party.

Even when most of the new Islanders have been respectful of the boy’s personal space, Gary can instantly feel three pairs of eyes raking down his muscular body. Feeling flattered by all the attention, the blond man throws them a wink, before standing up and leaving his empty bowl on the sink. He reckons that hitting the gym will help him clear his thoughts a bit, so he can get a flying start of the day and stop worrying about what Minni could be up to while she’s gone.

Once Gary eventually walks away to the gym, the three girls turn their attention to each other and begin to talk in a more secretive attitude. Soon, Bobby notices that they think he’s not hearing to them, since he’s almost out of earshot, and, because of their body language, realizes that their conversation is starting to get more interesting and enigmatic. He pastry chef pretends to focus on the eggs and hum a tune, when in reality he’s staying at one side of the kitchen and trying to listen to the new girls’ chat.

“… and is it just me or you already got Ibrahim all over you?” Cassie comments in a whisper, leaning towards Shannon.

The curvy red-haired girl smirks confidently, sliding her dark sunglasses towards the end of her nose to take a better look at the brunette. “Perhaps,” she simply replies.

Next, Ramona turns her attention towards Cassie, while flicking her braided hair. “You still have your eye on Gary, babes? How’s that going?” she asks, her voice quiet and dark-skinned hand partially covering her mouth.

“I’m not sure, actually. I’m trying to be chill about it, but he doesn’t seem too keen on getting to know anyone at the moment,” she explains, whereas her dark eyes dart towards the gym a couple of times just to take a look at the handsome muscular blond as he works out. “Anyways, with enough effort I reckon his head could be turned.”

Her statement makes Shannon break into a grin. “For sure. Watch out though, cos I think Blake is going for him, too,” she warns her. Next, she takes a moment to think and analyze the situation. “Well, Gary definitely fancies Chelsea, but they can’t be too attached— I mean, they were coupled up for just one night. And now that Minerva is out of the picture, maybe someone finally will have a chance with him.”

The Irish woman’s last phrase makes Bobby raise an eyebrow, his shocked golden eyes fixed on the eggs he’s cooking. The Scottish is left confused, wondering why are the girls linking Gary and Minni when they haven’t been coupled up in such a long time. Although he knows that Minni could still fancy the crane operator after that whole Recoupling fiasco that led her to pick him, her best friend, to couple up with, Bobby can’t quite understand why would they mention her right after naming Chelsea, the blond man’s current couple, and why wouldn’t they even bother to involve Lottie, considering that she was the one with Gary before the most recent Recoupling.

After sneaking a quick glance at the girls, the man sees Cassie and Ramona nodding in affirmation.

“The other boys don’t seem too interested either, though. It looks like only Ibrahim, Lucas and Jakub are willing to crack on with any of us,” the poker player points out.

“Speaking of Jakub,” Ramona leans closer to the girls, her dark eyes open wide. “Did you hear him and Emily last night, under the duvet?”

“Yeah,” Cassie gasps. “I’m guessing there were big bits going on.”

Still pretending to be solely focused on making breakfast, Bobby frowns noticeably, but doesn’t say anything. He couldn’t have known this information because he retired to the daybeds last night, so it all takes him by major surprise. Swallowing hardly and starting to serve the girls’ recently made eggs on neatly arranged plates, he tries to shake off his discomfort and put on a happy face. The pastry chef never saw this coming, not even from a lad-type bloke like Jakub.

Although he’s feeling uneasy, Bobby manages to be friendly to the girls after serving the freshly made breakfast. Minutes pass until all of them finish their respective plates and then saunter back towards the Villa to get ready for the day. Just then, the Scottish is left alone in the kitchen, still thinking about the fact that Jakub already took a big step with one of the new girls, not even holding back by the fact that him picking Hope was the reason the last Recoupling ended in disaster for most couples, nearly all the Islanders not ending up with who they planned to be.

While the pastry chef is piling the used dishes on the sink, Gary and Noah come into the kitchen to fill their water bottles after a long workout at the gym. The librarian has not even bothered to shave today, and it seems like his mood is getting lower by every minute the original girls are not here, probably because of the fact that he still has unfinished business with Hope, and that Priya got taken away just when the small thing they had was just starting to bloom. Bobby can’t imagine how he will feel when he tells him the new information he’s heard; he can’t not tell his best mates in here.

Feeling way better than earlier this morning, the blond crane operator is about to greet Bobby with his characteristic beam stretching his golden bearded cheeks, when he notices that his friend has a concerned expression on his face, something so unusual in him.

Before either Noah or Gary can ask anything, the Scottish scrunches his freckled nose and asks, “Gary, did you hear anything in the bedroom last night? Like… someone doing bits?”

The question surely takes the Chathamite by surprise, light blue eyes widening when hearing his words. “Nah, mate,” he responds, scratching the back of his neck because of the confusion. “Yesterday I slept like the dead, so I didn’t hear anything.”

“Why do you ask?” Noah inquires, curious.

After making sure none of the girls is near the kitchen to listen, Bobby gets closer to the other boys and leans forward, secretive. “The girls were saying it sounded like Emily and Jakub were doing big bits last night,” he whispers, his honey-colored eyes flicking from one of his mates to the other.

As soon as he processes the Scottish’s sentences, Noah opens his eyes wide. “Really? Even after he chose Hope—?” He stutters and stops mid-question, incredulous. If it wasn’t someone as trustworthy as Bobby telling him this information, the librarian would’ve almost not believed it. Then, he sighs out of frustration and his face turns into a frown, “I tell you what. Doing bits on the first night... it changes everything.”

Gary, who is just as perplexed as the two other men, feels all his body muscles tensing. “No doubt,” he mutters, his dark eyebrows going down and knitting together.

“It’s not even day three of the girls being away and things are already a mess,” Bobby winces.

The three Islanders are about to continue with their chat when they notice Lucas and Ibrahim entering the kitchen, which makes them go quiet, just because they know that the two men have been getting closer and closer to the new girls, which makes it possible for them to tell the new arrivals that Bobby was overhearing their chat.

Deciding to establish another conversation, the five men start speaking nonchalantly about random topics, with Bobby busying himself by throwing away the breakfast’s leftovers and leaving the dirty dishes on the sink. Some time passes until the group of new girls gets out of the Villa and heads towards the lawn. When seeing them all dressed up, the boys can’t avoid turning their attentions to them. The girls are certainly taking their looks a step forward, obviously with the purpose of standing out, something that is most definitely working.

Gary’s crystal blue orbs open a bit wider in awe, not being able to resist the sight of such beautiful women. What surprises him is that he doesn’t feel an alluring attraction to any of them— he just thinks that they’re fit. It’s nothing like the tugging feeling he gets when he watches Minni doing _anything_ , even if she’s just lounging around in her comfiest and simplest outfit.

Right in the moment he finds himself starting to miss her again, Noah’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts.

“Woah, she looks just like Hope…” the librarian murmurs, his eyes fixed on Ramona.

The crane operator’s sight instantly follows his mate’s and goes towards the dark-skinned girl, who is sporting pieces of clothing that, indeed, could perfectly belong to Hope, her braided hair arranged in an updo similar to the one the retail ambassador always wears. Even her makeup looks pretty much the same. He wonders if she’s doing it on purpose.

Whereas all of the boys stare baffled at how similar she looks to Hope, Bobby sulks and lets out a heavy sigh. “I miss our girls,” he says.

His defeated voice tone makes all of the male Islanders turn around to pay attention to him, realizing that he looks genuinely conflicted. Nobody expected that the original girls going away was the only thing it would take for him to change his ever-joking persona to a ball of affliction.

“I don’t think we should be comparing” Ibrahim comments, the corners of his lips going down slightly. “It’s kind of rude, I reckon.”

Lucas nods in agreement, as he leans back in the counter. He seems to be the most relaxed out of all of them, but Gary has quite the hunch that he might be playing it cool, although he can’t figure out why.

Without another word, Noah walks towards the sink and stares at the dirty dishes. Since the Islanders arrived to the Villa, they’ve been taking turns to do the washing up, and he’s just remembered that today it turns out to be his. The librarian is not one to whine when doing chores, less for a simple task like washing some dishes, but he’s feeling so low that having to do extra work becomes suddenly a burden.

Most of the boys take a notice of Noah just letting out a sigh and staring at the sink, but only Gary decides to act in the spot.

“Don’t worry about this, bruv,” he says, offering a kind smile. His strong hand goes to pat his mate’s back in a reassuring manner. “I can do it for you.”

“Really?” The quiet librarian asks, his eyes regaining a small glimmer at the idea.

“Sure, no problem,” Gary replies. To further his statement, he immediately picks up the sponge and splashes it with water.

Feeling relieved, Noah takes a step back and thanks him with a simple look that shows gratitude, being true to his quiet nature. Taking it as an opportunity to cheer everyone up, Bobby stretches his previous pout onto a smile and offers to go to the poolside to hang out in a bigger group and have some fun. All the boys follow suit, including Noah, ready to start the day on a more positive note than talking about how much they miss the original girls.

Just Lucas remains in the kitchen making Gary some company, silently drying the clean dishes with a small towel. The only sound heard in the kitchen are the splashes of water and the faraway voices chatting on the lawn, until the physiotherapist decides to establish a friendly conversation with the empathetic blond man.

“Ibrahim was right, about comparing,” Lucas comments, his dark eyes fixed on his task.

Instead of answering right away, Gary’s eyebrows knit together and he thinks for a moment, a small wrinkle forming in his forehead. “It’s hard not to compare sometimes, though” he starts, gently. At first, he thought of agreeing with his fellow Islander, but then he remembered something that could help him get a point across. Instantly, he notices Lucas’ curious sight on him. “I swear down the first day at the Villa I said to Bobby: ‘I tell you what, mate. I’d take any of these girls home to my nan’,” Gary confesses sheepishly. “But now it’s just— it doesn’t feel the same. This ain’t it. Our original girls are top-notch,” he concludes with a proud smile, his mind recalling that special blue-eyed girl that has always particularly stood out for him, the one he can’t get out of his head as much as he sometimes would like to.

“I know what you mean. They’re all amazing,” the physiotherapist answers, throwing him a restrained smile to hide the fact that he’s actually starting to have his eye on Blake more than any of the other girls, both the original ones and the new ones, and that is thinking about cracking on with her already.

**At Casa Amor’s lawn – Afternoon.**

With her physics book in hand, Minni is walking calmly towards the Casa Amor’s poolside. Her high platforms hit the floor with muffled sounds, since her steps are light and nonchalant, and her see-through dress flows lightly with the small breeze. Once she gets comfortably settled over one of the sun loungers, she puts on the transparent sunglasses Lucas packed for her and prepares to read, with the intentions of relaxing a bit and clearing her mind out of all the pampering she’s been getting lately.

Needless to say, most of the Casa Amor boys have been all over her, trying to shoot their best shot to get her attention. Just this morning, Minni got Arjun offering her a delicious breakfast, with it being a pile of French toast that she could’ve never finished on her own, Felix being his annoying self and trying to grab her for repeated chats, plus Kassam maintaining eye contact with her from afar for a longer time that’s considered just a friendly gesture. Although the freckled girl has always enjoyed being spoiled like this, she also feels like she needs some headspace to think about her current situation.

Last night, during the welcome party, she couldn’t help spending most of her time with Carl, the connection between the two being undeniable and, certainly, unescapable. Minni spent hours just staring at his turquoise irises whilst listening to him speaking about data, complex calculations and his informed opinions on technology, and she feels like she could’ve spent even more hours just having him listen to her as well, with devoted attention and _understanding_ of what she was saying. Later on, she decided to share a bed with him, and ended up sleeping with his slender frame engulfing her into a loose and relaxed cuddle.

Surely, Minni has always been into cheekier and more confident, rugged men, but there’s something about Carl, something she can’t quite pinpoint, that pulls her like a gravitational attraction. Perhaps it’s just his brains, she guesses, or maybe his clumsy yet mysterious demeanor. It’s also his quiet and shifty aura that causes her to want to make the effort of finding out more about him.

Just as the brunette girl is opening her book, a small and tanned hand prevents her to do so, being firm on lying flat over the cover’s surface. Recognizing the bright pink nail polish, Minni looks upwards with a confused expression.

“Are you really going to study, babes?” Chelsea whines. Soon, a pout is forming on her glossy lips.

Her question makes Minni’s dark eyebrows stitch together. “Well, yeah…”

After hearing her affirmation, her blonde friend takes the book off her hands and places it next to the lounger and out of her reach. “Don’t you dare to stick your nose on a math book when there’s _six hot boys_ waiting to chat you up, missy,” she nags in a loud whisper, her gaze determinately pointing at the Casa Amor boys, who are hanging out with the rest of the girls at the other side of the pool. They all look like they’re having fun, since they’re laughing at some story Priya seems to be telling. Despite this, the physics student is about to explain why she wanted to get a bit of alone time, but gets instantly interrupted by Chelsea. “Come with me instead, Minni. Priya is telling us a story about when she dated a mime!”

“A mime?” The blue-eyed girl asks, puzzled. Certainly, the interior decorator’s sentence caught her off guard. While she’s waiting for an explanation, a loud notification sound chimes in from inside her pocket, “I’ve got a text!”

<Islanders, prepare for the competition to heat up as you go head to head with the other Villa in a series of mini challenges. The winning Villa will be treated to a cocktail party this evening. #turnuptheheat #allvillanofiller #villavsvilla>

The other Islanders cheer, and Minni can’t not join, excited to have yet again another party and more alcohol to lift up her spirits. Her time at Casa Amor has been getting better and better, undoubtedly.

“Bloody hell! A cocktail party?” Graham’s rough voice thunders. “Quick, everyone get to the lawn!”

Not even waiting for the rest to say anything else, Chelsea squeals and grabs Minni’s hand, pulling her brunette friend to run towards the lawn. Giggling, the Cantabrigian follows suit, leaving most of her stuff at the sun lounger she was lying on. The rest of the Islanders jog behind them, and soon everyone is sitting on the bean bags while they wait for the first challenge.

Competitiveness rushes through everyone’s systems as they complete task after task at a rapid pace. Marisol and Graham get to share a rather long snog, Elijah and Chelsea get into the pool to perform an underwater kiss, Priya marvels an unexperienced Felix with the demonstration of sex positions, something that has the young man looking like he’s going to explode from astonishment, and Kassam gives Lottie an awkward lap dance.

Just when Minni is complaining internally about not getting some action, her trail of thought gets interrupted by Carl getting another challenge via text. “Oh fun, I have to kiss a girl for thirty seconds,” the tech entrepreneur informs, casually.

“Where’s that challenge for me?” Felix whines next to him.

Priya quirks one of her perfectly painted eyebrows with discontent. “Was I not enough?”

“I, erm… fair,” the blue-haired boy stutters. His cheeks turn wild red whereas he meet’s Priya’s mischievous expression.

“Minni’s the group’s top snogger,” Lottie interrupts with a poised voice tone, making everyone turn their sights to her, including the freckled student. Minni doesn’t know if she has hidden intentions or not, but decides to go along with the flow, considering that kissing during a challenge is not too big of a deal. All of the girls have already done that at this point.

“Alright, you can kiss me, babes,” she says, turning to Carl with a cheeky smirk. Instantly, she notices his shy face lighting up.

Meanwhile she stands up, the raven-haired man doesn’t lose time and runs over to her. “I have to say, I’m loving these challenges,” he tells her once he’s close enough, seductive. This is an attitude Minni has never seen in him, and this causes something to flutter inside her chest.

Quickly, Carl pulls her with his strong grip and she places her hands on his sharp shoulders. First, their lips touch, then their tongues. He’s not the most amazing kisser Minni’s laid her lips on, however a gasp escapes her mouth because of how _different_ he’s kissing her. His mouth against hers is delivered and controlled, decisive and paused. Even though they’re in the middle of a challenge, there’s no brashness to his touch, every movement, although a bit hesitant, seems to be perfectly planned and thought through, much like Carl’s personality.

Before Minni can bask onto the kiss and enjoy the moment, she gets distracted by the other Islanders beginning to cheer and countdown the time.

“Twenty-eight!” The brunette girl hears Graham barking at her side. Having his sailor voice doing a loud countdown completely breaks the atmosphere.

Still, Minni takes a notice of how Carl is struggling on deciding where to place his hands; they first go to her shoulders, then move to her arms, then to her waist. She chuckles at his indecisiveness, causing him to open his eyes in the middle of the kiss, questioning himself if he’s done something wrong already.

“Nineteen!” Lottie announces, following the counting.

It’s weird for Minni how the kiss starts to do downhill not even ten seconds in. She hopes it’s because of the challenge, although she’s not sure. Trying to make it better, she slides her hands up to cup Carl’s pale cheeks and attempts to guide his face into the kiss.

A few seconds later, the blue-eyed girl can hear Arjun yelling behind her. “Ten!”

Minni has to admit that thirty seconds is not nearly the longest she’s kissed someone, but she’s starting to guess that it is for Carl, especially by how his measured body language switches into a more insecure and clumsier one. Noticing that he’s definitely running out of air, the physics student pulls back and starts lightly pecking him. With this, the Irish entrepreneur seems to relax; she finds it cute, nonetheless.

“Four! Three! Two!” Marisol says, the volume of her voice rising with every exclamation.

“That’s it! You’re done,” Elijah announces with a wide smile.

In the instant they pull back, Carl intakes a deep breath, causing Minni to giggle inevitably. His turquoise hued eyes shine, nevertheless, and there’s a permanent smile plastered on his face. “I don’t think I’ve kissed someone for thirty seconds solid before,” the raven-haired man confesses. He rubs the back of his neck clumsily, and adds, “Especially with a group of people watching.”

“Alright love birds, get back to your bean bags. We have a challenge to win,” Graham commands bossily.

Shrugging, Minni takes a seat back on her bean bag, still feeling her mouth tingly because of all the kissing. She doesn’t even have time to process what’s just happened, because it only takes a few seconds for the next challenge to come in, this time from Arjun’s phone.

“I have the next one! Please be something sexy…” The dog groomer says with an enthused expression. He reads the text and then rolls his eyes, but still maintains a grin. “Not exactly what I had in mind, but I need a good bit of exercise. I have to give a girl a piggyback around the lawn!”

After taking a quick look at the rest of girls, Minni notices she’s the skinnier out of them all, and also almost as short as Marisol. She knows that it will be better for Arjun to lift the lightest of the group, so he can finish the challenge faster.

“I’d totally ride you, babe!” the young brunette exclaims, standing up rapidly.

Her wording makes Arjun smirk confidently, “Oh really, Minni?”

“Get your mind out of your gutter,” she giggles when realizing that what she’s just said could be comically misinterpreted. Up next, she runs to him and jumps onto his back without warning, which draws a light yelp from his throat. Instantly, the physics student starts to slip down before Arjun’s arms find her thighs and hoicks her up until they rest on his hip bones. While trying to get a secure hold, Minni’s arms go around his neck, but then she slides them down to his smooth chest until she’s hugging him.

Once the young woman is steady, Arjun turns to look at her, his face mere inches from hers, and winks. “Comfy back there?” he attempts to flirt.

“Oh my days, hurry! We have to win this!” Minni urges, as she wiggles her legs so he starts moving already. She knows for a fact that there’s blokes at the Villa that are stronger than Arjun, especially Gary. All of the sudden, the memory of the way the crane operator’s incomparable arms wrap around her hits her— this is the first time she’s allowed her thoughts to go back to the main Villa during the entire day.

“Let’s go!” Arjun hollers. In no time, he begins to move, picking up speed with each step. Soon, he’s in a full sprint, which makes Minni blink in confusion; maybe she underestimated him.

The journey is bumpy, whereas Minni bounces along with each step. Despite this, she’s having so much fun, enjoying how light and fast she feels in the dog groomer’s grip. Her melodic laugh fills the lawn’s air, being contagious enough to make the rest of the Islander’s let out cackles. As Arjun gains more speed, the young woman feels his arms tighten around her thighs. Then, he makes a sharp turn and Minni suddenly finds herself running full pelt at the pool. Cheekily and still chuckling, she tries to steer the man into it and he laughs when he starts to shift away from the pool at the last second, the girl’s weight not being enough to unbalance him. The others howl and cheer as the pair finally makes their way to the bean bags, having completed this challenge in no time.

After Minni gets off his back, Arjun collapses into his bean bag, panting.

“You were so fast, Arjun!” Lottie compliments.

“I like a good run…” the dog groomer responds. Next, he takes a deep, wheezy breath, while Elijah and Felix clap him on the shoulders to congratulate him.

Just when she’s sitting back on her spot, Minni feels her phone vibrating in her pocket, “I got the next one!”

<Minerva, it’s time for you to make one of the boys a blushing beauty.>

The text alone makes her break into a wild smirk. If she was complaining that she wasn’t having any action in this challenge, so far she’s had the three best tasks out of all. “Well, this will be easy,” she says to herself, before standing up. She knows the easiest way to make any guy’s face turn red quickly and with the minimum effort. “I have to make one of the boys blush as fast as possible!”

Her eyes go instantly to Carl, her high platforms thumping on the grass as she dashes towards him. Not even waiting for him to process it, Minni leans forward and looks at him in the eyes, under her long and curved eyelashes. After a few seconds of eye contact, the girl places one of her hands on his shoulder to use it as support to get closer to his ear. “Limba română este la fel de senzuală ca tine,” she whispers seductively in Romanian, her second language and her family’s native tongue.

“Wow…” Carl murmurs, shuffling on the bean bag. Even if he doesn’t get a word of what she’s just told him, the man’s breath quivers, his pale and smooth skin getting covered in goosebumps.

Minni is just leaning backwards when she sees his cheeks flush with a bright red color. “Hah!” she exclaims in victory, her sudden sultry aura vanishing and her expression turning into her light-hearted and cheeky usual self. Still, Carl can’t take his eyes out of her, completely charmed by her entire persona and whatever she does.

“Look at those cheeks! Nice job, babe,” Priya praises her, proud of how easy it was for the young woman to complete her assigned challenge.

“And in, like, no time at all!” Marisol adds and pats the young brunette’s arm as she sits next to her. She was able to catch a small glimpse of what Minni whispered to Carl, and she has to admit that the freckled student can be extremely sexy when she wants to.

“I got the next challenge!” Hope squeals then, lifting her hands to get everyone’s attention. She’s about to read the text out loud, when her eyes catch a few words that, without a doubt, let her know instantly what the next task is all about. “Oh no…” she adds, quietly and with her eyebrows going down as an anticipation.

“Quick! What is it, babe?” The law student asks in a hurried voice tone.

“Every Islander has to suck the toe of another Islander!” The dark-skinned girl defeatedly announces. Right after a round of whines and complains, the Islanders jump out of their bean bags. The guys scramble to find someone, while some of the girls call over to them.

As she cringes after briefly wrapping her lips around Chelsea’s toe and then letting go, Minni can’t help but think that Bobby must be having the time of his life because of this particular challenge. Out of the blue, a melancholic feeling of nostalgia invades the physics student, causing her to miss the original boys and their shenanigans, a sensation similar to being homesick. For the first time since she got here, she genuinely worries about all the things that could be happening in the Villa while they’re away.

**In the Villa’s swinging chair – Afternoon.**

The challenge against Casa Amor has finished minutes ago, and Bobby is still laughing and making jokes about everyone having to suck on another Islander’s toes. The only person in the Villa patient enough to stand his repeated toe puns is Noah, who has stayed next to him on the swinging chair, in need of some humor to bring his mood up. Luckily, his mate’s comical persona seems to be doing the trick, as the pastry chef has him smiling in no time.

After a while of hanging out casually, they can see Gary’s bulky frame jogging towards them, still sweaty from his most recent workout, as if having to give Cassie a piggyback ride around the Villa hadn’t been enough already. “What are you up to, lads?” the blond asks, louder than necessary.

His voice tone makes Bobby lift an eyebrow, his honey-colored eyes looking around immediately to try and figure out what’s going on. Not too far away, he sees Blake sitting by the pool, her heavily painted eyes staring at Gary and apparently not knowing if she should get close or not. And then he spots Cassie and Shannon in the daybeds, also looking at them attentively.

Keeping a forced beam on his face, the crane operator props himself in down on the swinging chair, causing it to creak and bounce slightly. Before speaking, he slides very close to his mates. “I’m not usually one to avoid some nice birds,” he starts saying, his voice quiet so nobody can hear him. “But those two have been following me all morning. I suppose they want to have a private chat, but I’m not having any of it, if I’m completely honest.”

Gary appears to be sincerely conflicted about having both Cassie and Blake going after him, something that surely is unexpected to Bobby, knowing that the Chathamite likes to have girls giving him attention and flirting with him. “Since when are you scared of girls grafting you?” the Scottish asks, jokingly.

The younger man just scrunches his nose as a response, perhaps wanting his issue to be taken more seriously.

“This is a different scenario, Bobby. Some of them will do anything for one of us to recouple with them,” Noah explains with a cautious tone in his soothing voice.

Gary nods, appreciating that the librarian seems to understand his struggle. “The fact that they could be using us to stay in the Villa proper confuses me. I don’t know who’s being legit and who’s not,” he follows the idea, as his baby blue orbs shift quickly from his mates to the girls. “I’d rather stay out of it so no-one messes with my head. I don’t fancy any of them that much anyway.”

During the day, Gary has spent most of his time at the gym, reflecting on how he feels about this whole Casa Amor situation. Between lifting different sets of dumbbells and having a strong grip on the barbell, he’s come to the conclusion that none of the new girls are appealing enough for him to try to pursue something— Minni is not getting out of his head anytime soon, with him trying not to miss her too much for the sake of maintaining his mood up.

After the other men’s explanations, Bobby understands their point and chooses to pat Gary’s muscular back as a gesture of reassurance. As soon as his hand unsticks from the blond’s fair skin, he has to wipe the other lad’s sweat out of his palm by using the side of one of the pillows, “You’re safe here with us, man. We’ll protect you.”

Gary chuckles at the Scottish’s statement and finally relaxes, his paw-like hand going up to run through his golden locks. There’s a long pause between the three male Islanders, all of them avoiding making eye contact with the new girls to let them know that they’re not interested on having chats at the moment.

As the crane operator rummages in his head for topics of conversation, he suddenly remembers what Bobby told them this morning about Jakub doing bits already. The blond man didn’t hear a thing last night, but is sure that it’s because he fell asleep in an instant and didn’t wake up until early in the morning.

“Noah, mate, how are you feeling now?” Gary asks, cautiously bringing up the rather sensitive subject.

The librarian’s dark eyes turn to him. He hesitates at first, opening his mouth to speak, and then closes it again to think for a moment. “I’m not sure, Gary. My head’s all over the place,” Noah ends up responding. “After finding out that Jakub was doing bits, I realized that, even if Hope and I split, I still quite care about her and that we still have things that we need to sort out. And Priya… I just really fancy her. She’s an amazing woman,” he heavily sighs. “The thing is, I know both of them will stick. I’m almost completely sure about it. And, after they come back, I will have to make a decision.”

“You will make the right one, lad,” the blond man answers supportively. He offers his older mate a light-hearted smile, “Whatever it is, here’s us prepared to back you up. Right, Bobbo?”

“Exactly, pal,” Bobby seconds, nudging Noah’s toned arm. After achieving to make him feel better, the pastry chef tries to shift the conversation to talk about something else other than the librarian’s issue, to try and get him distracted. “What about the other girls? Who do you think will stick?”

Gary hums, his deep voice resonating on his broad chest whilst he thinks. “I’m not quite sure about Chelsea, if I’m honest,” he comments, sincerely. Then, he bites his lip for a moment, whereas he tries to find a way to explain himself. “None of us know her really well, after all. And, considering we were only coupled up for a day… I don’t know.”

His mates nod in agreement, nobody having anything to say on the subject. Even though Chelsea is a friendly and kind girl, she’s also a bit unpredictable, and she has just met two sets of different lads within the span of a few days, so it wouldn’t be weird for her to switch. Besides, nothing got the chance to develop between her and Gary. But having her coming back with another lad would also leave the crane operator single and vulnerable to get dumped from the Island, something that nobody in the Villa wants to happen.

“What about Minni?” Noah asks nonchalantly, looking up at the sky and shielding his eyes with one slender hand.

The Scottish chuckles at how obvious is the answer of his question, “That jumpy bean is a sticker, mate. There’s no way she’d prefer to be with any other lads.”

Then, both Noah and Bobby, turn their sights to Gary, wanting to listen to his opinion on the matter, as they consider that he is one of the people in the Villa who know Minni the most; the muscular man and the physics student have been the closest of friends since the beginning of the show. Oddly, the Chathamite stays quiet, his expression acquiring a somber undertone. His eyes are reluctant to meet his mates’, being fixed on the deck below him instead.

The sole mention out loud of the doubt he’s had in his mind since he knew the freckled girl will be meeting six other men turns Gary’s heart into a tight fist, simply because he doesn’t know the answer. By what he can tell, Minni has all the rights to crack on and to come back with any lad she pleases, since they didn’t get to have the conversation they so desperately needed to get things out in the open.

It pains Gary to admit that he hasn’t been true to himself. Despite finding Lottie attractive, there wasn’t a special connection between the two and he knew it from the get-go, but pushed whatever they had going on just to have a safe second option to stay in the game, too afraid of sticking with Minni because of all the lads that were competing for her attention at the moment. On his last days of being coupled up with the Australian girl, things were definitely not working for them; the crane operator feels shocked when realizing that, even after sharing a bed with her for almost five days, he’s not missing Lottie on a deep level.

As always, Gary feels like he has come to the realization of important things when it’s already too late. It just took Minni to go away for him to make a pause and _bloody think_ on who he really wants to be with, the only response being the blue-eyed girl. He can only hope that the small note he sent her serves as a little reminder that he is waiting for her and that doesn’t want to be with anyone else but _her_.

“Gaz?” Noah asks, concern washing over his dark-skinned face by seeing his friend go completely quiet.

When hearing his mate calling him, Gary seems to snap out of his thoughts and parts his mouth to reply, but shuts up rapidly as Bobby’s phone beeps.

“I’ve got a text!” the pastry chef announces, not noticing that the crane operator’s expression next to him shows sadness; the honey-eyed man is so convinced that Minni will stick that could never imagine Gary feeling down at the thought of her coming back with another bloke by her side. The Scottish then proceeds to wiggle his phone in the air, while he waits for everyone to gather around. When all of the Islanders are close enough to hear, he reads the text out loud.

<Islanders, you lost today’s competition against Casa Amor. Therefore you will not be having a cocktail party tonight. #sorelosers #cocktailess.>

Groans and whispered laments fill the air around them, everyone disappointed by the results of the competition and, on top of that, the thought that the other Villa will be having a great time tonight after having won over them. For the second time in this day, it’s up to Bobby to try and make everyone feel better. With a grin bound to light up an entire room, the pastry chef offers to make pancakes for everyone, causing all of the Islanders to follow him to the kitchen in hot pursuit.

Gary is about to stand up from his spot in the swinging chair when he feels Noah’s hand on his shoulder, beckoning him to stay. Feeling busted, the crane operator reluctantly sits down and waits for the taller lad to speak; he knows Noah noticed that he got lost in his thoughts when he brought up the physics student’s name.

There’s a moment filled with an easy silence, so characteristic of his librarian friend, before he starts talking. “You seemed bummed out when I mentioned Minni. Did something happen between you two before she went away?”

Shaking his head at first, Gary sighs. It takes him a moment to gather his thoughts about how he feels and to convince himself that he has to stop playing it cool and pretending to be alright when he’s not, and that he must ask for someone’s advice. The crane operator takes a deep breath before declaring, “After that last Recoupling, I spoke to her and I told her that I wanted us to try things again.”

Noah opens his eyes wide because of the confession. Since he found out that Gary wanted Minni to pick him at the last girls-choose Recoupling, the librarian realized that the muscular Chathamite hasn’t stopped fancying her since they were first coupled up, but pretended not to as soon as he noticed that things didn’t quite work out between the two, less when she decided to move on to try something with Bobby, apparently. Noah has never commented anything on the matter, not even when Hope asked him so insistently to give her some insight about those two. He’s kept Gary’s crush a secret, because he understands why the blond wouldn’t want anyone to find out: if not mutual, it could mess up the close friendship he has with Minni.

Getting worried about the idea of Gary coming clean to Minni after the last Recoupling and getting pied off, the dark-skinned man is quick to ask, “And what did she say?”

“She said that she’d like to,” the younger man simply replies. Although it’s good news, he maintains a sad expression on his features, his dark eyebrows lowering down and lips forming a thin line.

“That’s great news, bruv!” Noah exclaims, enthused. When he takes a second to scan his friend’s face, he feels confused, “Why are you so bummed out about it, then?”

“Because that’s it, mate. We didn’t have the opportunity to have a longer conversation about it, so I couldn’t get my feelings out in the open as I would’ve liked to,” the blond explains. “Therefore, I don’t reckon she knows how much I like her,” he finishes with a sigh.

Noah instantly gets what he means. Minni not knowing exactly what Gary’s intentions are and how serious he was being about wanting to couple up with her could cause her to try to move on to another lad, just because of the uncertainty. The librarian stays quiet for a moment, thinking about the situation his younger friend is immersed into. He would like to help, but they can’t do much in this scenario.

“Well… we all know Minni, right? She’s always very sincere with her intentions,” Noah begins, thoughtful. He lifts his hand to scratch his growing stubble as he calmly talks to his mate. “If she told you that she wants to try to be with you, it’s because she honestly wanted to.”

Gary nods, but doesn’t look too convinced yet. He knows that Noah is making sense, but there’s a glimpse of doubt in the back of his head that still bothers him.

“I’ve also noticed that you two have not stopped fancying each other since… practically since we arrived here, mate,” the librarian confesses, much to the blond’s surprise. “I still don’t get why Minni didn’t pick you at that Recoupling, but I have the hunch that it has to be a good reason why,” he continues with a sincere and tranquil voice tone. “Anyway, she _did_ hint at you that she wants to try things again, so, at this point, I think you just have to wait and trust her to come back single.”

Intaking the older Islander’s words, Gary comes to the realization that he’s right. There’s nothing else he can do for now but to wait and stay loyal to Chelsea; he might as well sleep on the daybeds tonight, too. With deep frustration making itself at home in his bones, the crane operator concludes that he’s been digging himself in a deep hole, by ignoring that his heart has belonged to Minni all along. But maybe it isn’t too late for things to work between them, he also hopes, even with this whole Casa Amor problem in the middle— if Minni comes back single, it will definitely be the ultimate sign for Gary to know that things are meant to be. If not, he doesn’t know what he will do with his already smothered heart.

**At the Casa Amor’s roof terrace – Evening.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyASdjZE0R0)**

After finishing her third cocktail of the night, Minni goes up the stairs towards the roof terrace to, yet again, try to get some headspace and time for herself. Even when she’s a bit tipsy already, she reckons having a good look at the different constellations of the northern sky will make her feel more at ease, more connected with herself, if that makes sense. With a bottle of beer in her small hand, she takes step by step, wondering how bright is Ursa Minor looking today.

Much to her disbelief, she finds Graham’s broad back facing her, the man standing in the terrace all on his own and quietly staring at the lawn. It’s the brunette’s footsteps which make him turn around; he also has a bottle of beer in his hand.

Feeling groovy, Minni chooses to take a light approach to the awkward situation. “Would you like some company?” she asks with a kind smile. “Look! We’re beer-buddies,” the girl adds, wiggling her bottle with one hand to show him.

After taking a look at the beer in her hand and then at his, comparing them, Graham scrunches his nose. “Oi, don’t try to get all flirty on me, yeah?” He responds too quickly, his tough features tightening in displeasure. Instantly, he notices that he’s been way too rude to the young woman without really meaning to. “Sorry, I reckon I’m being defensive.”

“Quite a bit,” she shrugs, not getting mad at him for his reaction. Next, she chuckles and steps closer, realizing why he’s being this protective of himself. “Don’t worry, mate. I didn’t come here to graft. I don’t have my eye on you, if I’m honest.”

The truth is, Graham is a lad that Minni would’ve gone for at first, but as he got to know him she figured out that he’s too loud, too out there and too bossy for her taste. Still, she thinks he could be good mate material, especially for how sincere he’s been on his intentions with Marisol from the start.

The fisherman relaxes instantly after hearing her honest response. “That’s good to hear,” he says, offering a friendly smile.

Pleased for having cleared her intentions, the physics student gets even closer and leans over the edge of the terrace to take a look at the lawn. Since she can’t have the alone time she wanted to spend stargazing, at least she can take this opportunity to spend some time with the red-haired man. The pair stays in silence for a moment, while they spot the rest of the Islanders dancing and finishing the cocktails they earned for winning today’s challenge against the main Villa. Certainly, Casa Amor is boiling with triumph and cheerfulness. After a moment, Minni notices that Graham is looking at Marisol at all times.

“It’s funny, when I first came here, I thought my game plan was to try it on with as many girls as possible. Like, every guy here sees you girls as a ticket to the main Villa,” the tall man confesses to the blue-eyed girl.

Minni scrunches her nose as she looks up at his towering frame, “Charming…”

Her gesture makes him let out a small cackle. “And I honestly thought I’d do whatever it took to get there. But then I met Marisol and, like, she completely turned my head,” he confesses, candidly. His dark eyes twinkle whilst he speaks, “They say ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’, but I can’t help it if they just topple into the damn thing.”

His last sentence makes a lot of sense to Minni; she can’t help to compare Graham’s situation with what happened between her and Gary, and now what’s happening between her and Carl. Both times, although the first one evidently involves stronger feelings than the other, she couldn’t avoid taking a liking to the man she had her eye on, despite trying to downplay her feelings. The only thing she knows for certain at this point is that this entire Love Island thing makes every emotion to turn confusing and every sentiment to get amplified.

Attempting not to think about the subject, Minni shifts her attention back to Graham’s sincere expression, and is marveled when she sees that he really cares about Marisol. She feels glad that the Spanish girl has found someone who is so keen on her to curve all the rest of the girls trying to flirt with him.

“Then it should be easier for you to just go for it, don’t you think? I mean, now that getting into the main Villa is not your first priority,” Minni responds to the sailor.

“Yeah, I think so…” Graham considers and scratches his thick copper-colored beard. “I just really want to impress her, but I don’t know how,” he adds, preoccupied.

Minni’s smile widens at his last quote, his voice tone being frank and less loud than usual, “Maybe you already know more about her than I do. You watched the show, didn’t you?” she says, softly.

The fisherman takes a large gulp of his beer. He’s impressed on how easy it is to speak to Minni. He barely knows the girl, but he already feels genuinely comfortable chatting to her about his dating worries. “Well, yeah, I did, but I didn’t pay too much attention to anyone’s details. I wish I had, though, so now I would’ve been able to feel like I know her better,” he replies.

After that, the red-haired man looks down, expecting her to perhaps end the conversation, but instead he sees her taking a sip of her bottle and then offering a smirk.

“Alright, I’ll help you out,” the blue-eyed girl says, determined. Without waiting for him to respond, she starts speaking, “Marisol likes someone who really knows what they want, also someone who appreciates details. Perhaps you could start with…”

From that, Minni goes on and on about everything she’s been able to pick up on Marisol’s preferences and tastes. The young brunette is good at identifying what people like, so even if she’s not the closest to the law student, she has gathered a bit of useful knowledge about her already, and is more than happy to share it with the ginger Devonian. Baffled by how enthused is Minni to help him, Graham stays quiet and tries to remember as much as he can. Soon, the man realizes how good of a friend she is, and how kind her character turns out to be— this girl has a big heart, he concludes. He also reckons that the telly didn’t lie; Minni is one of the most popular Islanders on the outside, mainly because of how chill and lighthearted she is. At first, Graham thought they were just showing the best of her to make her a fan favorite, but when meeting her in person she most definitely doesn’t disappoint.

Minutes pass, and their chat lasts as long as it takes them to finish their beers. From Graham’s preoccupations about not impressing Marisol, they jump to other simpler topics, the conversation being refreshing for both of them even if they never expected to be talking like this with the other.

“You know, now that I think about it, that doesn’t seem _too bad_. I reckon that once you solve that coordination problem, you will be good to go,” Graham grins when Minni explains to him why she has never been able to learn how to drive. “That is, if you don’t crash another car,” he adds, mischievous, and ends up earning a slap on the arm. He waits for the young woman’s giggles to die down before getting a bit serious, “I have to thank you, by the way. You seem to be a great friend, so you can count on me whenever you need, really. I have your back from now on, Minnow.”

A bit confused by the unexpected nickname, Minni scrunches her nose, “Minnow?”

“Yeah. It means tiny fish,” Graham responds, puffing his chest. When he sees the girl doubting about the word, he laughs at her and ruffles her hair. “Come on, let’s join the party. Chelsea’s going wild already and I don’t want to miss her spilling by accident some of those fruity cocktails over Felix’s pants again.”

Minni decides to accept his request and follows him downstairs, with the recent nickname the sailor just gave her still stuck on her head. She wishes she would have access to google to double check the meaning of it, just to make sure he’s not winding her up.

**In the Casa Amor’s bedroom – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PURp-73jgjs)**

Giggling, Minni lets herself fall onto the mattress of her bed, feathers falling off her chocolate brown hair. After the amazing party they had today at Casa Amor and all the cocktails she and Chelsea hoarded for themselves, a mixture of adrenaline, alcohol and happiness is running through her veins, something that hasn’t happened in a while since her time in the Villa. Until now, she didn’t quite realize how bad her luck has actually been during her most recent time in Love Island, noticing that the last few parties have unfortunately all ended in drama; is so refreshing for her to finally have a party that doesn’t end with people arguing or something else happening that ends up throwing everyone’s mood onto the ground.

The physics student tries to remember the last time she’s had some kind of fun like this, and, oddly, she concludes that it was also during a pillow-fight— that time, she was hiding behind Gary’s back, the muscular blond being agile when catching the pillows the other Islanders threw at them and returning them with strong force, a wide beam permanently on his handsome face. Just remembering his laugh and the way he looked at her while they fooled around, and how good of a team they made, makes Minni’s heart thump fast.

She doesn’t even have time to think about shaking off the feeling, since the figure that lies down next to her soon catches all her attention. Under the pale light that illuminates the communal bedroom, Carl’s light skin acquires a pearly tone and his blue eyes a greyish tint. His smile stretches when looking at the young woman next to him, his face relaxing as he does so.

In this moment, Minni just lies there, staring at him as the lights go off. Caringly, the raven-haired man engulfs her with the duvet and tucks her in, making her let out a content breath. Once she’s comfortable, the girl edges over closer to him, and he receives her by lying on his side to face her. In no time, Minni is fully feeling his body against hers, his body temperature being just a bit warmer than hers, something that she also noticed yesterday since they slept close enough, just like this.

Grey tones of blue eyes meet, not letting go. The young brunette doesn’t know what causes the sudden magnetism she feels towards Carl, as all she can think of in his moment is _him_. Air gets caught in her throat when she sees one of his slender hands going up and towards her face. Minni expects him to place it on her cheek and pull her into a kiss, until he retreats it when he gets a hold of one last white feather that was still tangled in her hair.

Her own hopeful reaction makes the girl chuckle.

“What?” Carl opens his eyes wide, nervous by her unexpected cackle, which makes him thing that he may have done something embarrassing without noticing, like it always happens to him.

“Nothing,” Minni shrugs. “I just… I thought you were going in for a kiss,” she explains, quite shy about it.

Her words take the man by surprise. Then, he pauses for a moment to think, taking all of the considerations around the choices he could make right now. He outweighs the risks versus the rewards of his situation, certainly thinking it all through. Sure, he thinks, when it comes to another person there’s also a bunch of extra variables to consider too, particularly when is someone who he fancies as much as Minerva.

“Would you like that?” He timidly asks, not breaking eye contact.

The physics student blinks a couple of times. The truth is, she doesn’t know if it’s completely what she wants, but decides to go for it anyway, with it being the only way she can find out how much she truly likes Carl. She reckons it’s definitely different to kiss someone during a challenge, with a competitive aura surrounding them and a bunch of people staring, than in the intimacy of the night and cocooned by cozy bedsheets.

After nodding gently, Minni moves her small hand towards his face, her blue eyes going back and forth between his gaze and his pale mouth. Slowly, she leads Carl’s face to hers by his chin and gives his lips a gentle peck. Her pink and plump lips feel tingly afterwards, just like earlier today.

“That was nice,” the brunet man whispers into their shared air.

His comment causes the young woman to break into a cheeky smirk. “Your turn,” she murmurs in a flirty way, right after noticing she’s done most of the work when it comes to take control, both during the challenge and now.

“My turn?” Carl inquires, being some kind of clueless. His stomach flutters when Minni looks at him under her long eyelashes, with this happening to him twice today already.

As soon as the Cantabrigian nods once more, Carl runs his hand up her arm and then pulls her lips back to his, without another word. The kiss is decisive, firm, and controlled, longer than the peck she gave him but not enough to be a full snog. Still, the freckled girl feels fuzzy all over. It’s not the strongest feeling she’s had so far, but it may be something worth exploring further, she thinks.

“Was that okay?” the Irish man speaks to her with a candid expression on his sharp features.

Minni can’t avoid beaming at how sweet he looks when asking for reassurance. “Yeah,” she replies tenderly.

He smiles at her as he lets his hand rest on her arm. His smooth thumb rubs small and timid circles over her milky-white skin, whilst he tries to find the right words before speaking, because he doesn’t want to mess up. “You’re a very special person, Minerva,” Carl begins saying. “I knew that from watching you on TV before coming here, but you just prove it more and more.”

His sincere confession causes Minni’s insides to liquefy gradually. She hasn’t felt _this_ special in what seems like days, especially after the last Recoupling. In this instant, she realizes that nobody has had eyes _just for her_ since entering the Villa, with all of the boys having being caught in the grafting game this show pushes them to play. Certainly not Rocco, not Henrik, nor Lucas or Bobby… not even Gary.

 _Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket_ , is the quote everyone repeats over and over again. This also made Minni believe she should do that at all times, spreading her time, effort and kind chats into various boys, possibly this causing her to lose Gary in the first place. She likes the flirting game, she loves to fool around and be cheeky all over— but perhaps this could be a dangerous combination when trying to catch a certain crane operator who acts the exact same way.

Whereas the thought dawns on her, the room is silent except for the rustle of crisp new sheets and the faint squeak of a bed. Someone starts snoring, breaking the quietness but not being enough to distract her from her internal debate. Minni can only gift Carl a kind and honest smile, since she can’t articulate a proper sentence as of now, too caught in her own turmoil of emotions. She starts guessing that maybe it wouldn’t hurt for her to test something different this time, to try things with someone like Carl, who is undoubtedly just aiming at her. Maybe Gary is currently cracking on, back in the dim lights of the main Villa’s communal bedroom. Maybe he’s already being his flirty self, giving sneaky kisses to another bird. He didn’t even bother to leave a reminder for the physics student on the suitcase he so thoroughly packed for his current partner, after all; this could also be a sign for Minni to move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so all of that happened hahaha. i know there wasn't a lot of drama in this chapter, but it's surely a setup for what's to come in the next one, since things will surely tumble down for our beloved blue-eyed softies.｡.:*☆ also, sorry in advance >:D and definitely let me know your thoughts on how the story is going so far :3  
> i'll try to update this fic soon, but in the meantime i will be also working on my second fic called "Blue and Hazel" in case you guys want to check it out if you haven't ;) once again, thank you for making it this far and see you next chapter｡･:*:･ﾟ★


	15. Day 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But the way she looked at that man inevitably takes Gary back to the first days at the Villa; Minni used to look at him like that, with that same flirty smirk, slightly scrunched nose and big blue eyes fixed on his. He can’t believe that, once again, the opportunity to have a romantic relationship with her is slipping in between his fingers like if it was water. For now, the only thing he knows for certain is that, first and foremost, he regrets ever having wanted to see footage of what the physics student is doing at Casa Amor. He was better off not knowing that she seems to be into another lad already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, beautiful people✿✼:* i'm so so so excited for you guys to read this chapter :3 it's twice as long as the usual, and you'll get why soon. i also want you to know that most scenes in here are really important to me, as they are all from scratch and have lots of emotionality, because they form part of the most exciting bit of the story imo｡･:*:･ﾟ★ i really enjoyed writing them and they're really close to heart, so i truly hope you can feel that personal emotion through the words. i hope you like it!

**Day 16**

**At Casa Amor’s bedroom – Morning.**

Puffy, milky-white eyelids open faintly to reveal a pair of sluggish cobalt irises, just to find out that the lights of Casa Amor’s bedroom have already turned on. Quite surprised for having actually fallen asleep after getting caught in a turmoil of emotions last night, Minni blinks at the emptiness; she’s grateful that the cocktails she drank seem to have gotten her tired enough to feel sleepy. After stirring slightly, the young brunette closes her eyes again and turns around— the space next to her in the bed is empty.

Although yesterday ended up with her doubting herself and pretty much every decision she’s made since arriving to Love Island, the only thing Minni is confused about for the moment is why there isn’t anybody but her in the communal bedroom, until she snaps out of her thoughts when hearing the door clicking open and a bunch of splashes coming from the pool.

Lifting her head upwards, the young brunette sees Carl entering the room, already dressed for the day and with a cup on his hand. A smile gets drawn in her drowsy features, one that he returns shyly.

“Good morning. I brought you this,” he simply says, sitting next to her in the bed. Then, he handles her the cup, which is filled with a dark liquid.

Minni is not a big fan of coffee in the mornings, but accepts his kind gesture anyway. She sits up and, after briefly rubbing her still weary eyes, she cradles the beverage with both hands and thanks Carl with a soft beam. Carefully, the freckled girl sips the hot, bitter liquid; it’s too bitter for someone who usually adds four spoonfuls of sugar to her tea. Still, without knowing how else to show her appreciation, she reaches over to run a hand across his head. Much to her surprise, he dodges her hand and then looks at her quite horrified.

“What are you doing?” Carl asks, confused. With a wrinkle forming between his dark eyebrows, he brings one slender hand up to his hair to make sure Minni didn’t mess it up.

The brunette girl pouts slightly. “I was trying to be affectionate,” Minni clarifies, puzzled on why he didn’t let her touch him.

“Never touch the hair,” the Irish clarifies, serious. After that, he realizes he might have been too stern, so he thinks the right thing to do is to provide a reason why, delivered with a more relaxed voice tone, “It takes me ages to get it like this.”

“Alright,” the young woman shrugs, not being able to avoid showing a bit of disappointment in her expression. Even though she loves running her fingers across men’s hair, she understands that is not of Carl’s liking, so she decides to let the topic pass. While looking around the communal bedroom, she decides to ask, “Did I sleep in for too long?”

“No, actually. Everyone got up just a few minutes ago. The rest is waiting by the pool for the girls to get ready,” Carl responds with a casual hand gesture.

“I better go get ready too, then,” Minni says with an enthused aura. Whilst still holding her cup of coffee, the blue-eyed girl does her best to shake off her sleepiness and stand up next to the bed. As a way to say goodbye to Carl, she leans forward and attempts to plant a gentle peck on his lips, however and yet again, he pulls back before she can touch him.

In this moment, the physics student is not able to hide her discontent, but also second guesses herself thinking that she might be coming in too strong; Minni’s way of showing affection is mainly through physical contact, more than words or gifts, even more than her paying attention to someone, so she can’t quite avoid getting touchy when she is starting to like somebody.

Realizing once more that him being this declining could hurt her feelings, Carl tries to explain his reasons behind not wanting to reciprocate her gesture. “I don’t want us to taste each other’s breakfast,” he states, his eyes wrinkling to show his uncomfortableness and his mouth twisting a bit at the thought.

Swallowing the awkward rejection, Minni’s lips try to form a strained smile, although they end up just achieving a thin line. She would’ve never minded tasting someone’s breakfast, as weird as it might sound. For her, actually, it’s a very normal and coupley thing to be able to get close without any inhibition. And, even though she has just come to the conclusion that perhaps her and Carl might have different ways of showing affection and expectations on what being in a couple means, she decides to see how the small thing they have already formed between them goes, rather than to overthink about it.

Not knowing what else to say, Minni chooses to pat his shoulder instead, as a way to say goodbye for now, and heads straight to the dressing room as not to mess up again.

**At the Villa’s lawn – Morning.**

Not too far away and back in the Villa, another pair of lethargic and lighter blue eyes open, immediately squinting at the bright summer sunlight. Gary covers his face by using his forearm and grunts slightly, not having remembered that yesterday he chose to sleep in the daybeds instead of the communal bedroom. Even more so, he doesn’t know how he managed to actually fall sleep with Noah’s thundering snores closer than usual, although he guesses that sleeping in an open area like the lawn helped to ease the sound. Last night, with just two available daybeds and the three of them, Bobby, Gary and Noah, not wanting to share a bed with the new girls, they had to look for alternative places to sleep. The Scottish decided to spend the night in the living room’s couch, leaving Gary, who is a much heavier sleeper, to have to lie down near their snoring librarian friend. Luckily, the crane operator managed to rest just well.

A raspy sigh escapes the blond’s lips as soon as he remembers why he chose to spend the night here in the first place. Despite not having any idea of what Minni could be up to, he tries to convince himself that she hasn’t fancied any of the Casa Amor lads, that the note he left for her was a good reminder of what they had, or what they could have, romantically. Just like Noah advised him yesterday, they have nothing much to do but to wait and see what comes out of all this two separate Villa’s situation once they fusion them together.

As if his mate had been hearing his thoughts, in the daybed beside him the quiet librarian wakes up and sits on slowly, the rustling sound of the bedsheets making Gary uncover his eyes.

“Morning,” the Chatham man greets. Then, he smirks at Noah. Even when he had a relatively good night of sleep, he won’t miss the chance of joking about his fellow Islander’s snoring, “Mate, you snore so loudly that I thought they were lawnmowing over here.”

His comment makes the other lad snort and stretch his stubbled cheeks onto a smile. Just when he is about to reply with something, the notification sound of a text rings, apparently coming from Gary’s phone. The crane operator raises one eyebrow as he grabs his phone, then puts on his optical frames and exchanges a confused look with Noah.

Before opening the text, both decide to go to the bedroom so everyone can get the news at the same time, whatever they are.

“Guys! I got a text!” Gary’s voice can be heard seconds before him and Noah enter the communal bedroom.

Most of the male Islanders are awake already and there’s no girls in the bedroom, probably all of them being upstairs getting ready for the day. The bulky man’s voice is loud enough to get all of the boys’ attention so everyone quickly crowds around him, different sets of eyes glued to the screen. Soon, the Islanders find themselves puzzled.

“It’s just a video,” Gary points out, quite perplexed. Next, he proceeds to tap on the play button.

The first clip that shows up are the girls standing in a circle, all dolled up and dressed in night party outfits. With their hands holding glasses of different cocktails and smiles on their faces, they stare at some point in the distance. Instantly, the Chathamite’s gaze searches for Minni, but just a small portion of her beautiful face appears in the frame shown.

“Gosh, there’s so many to choose from!” Chelsea gasps at the equally charmed girls.

After that, the scene changes and the video is now showing Marisol and Lottie talking in some kind of dressing room. The Spanish girl is moisturizing her legs attentively, a cheeky smirk drawn on her red lips.

“Well, who knows what will happen tonight, is all I’m saying,” the dark blonde tells Lottie.

At first, the Aussie looks confused, “Oh?” Then, her face lights up at the realization. “Oh!” She exclaims, and a split-second passes before she returns the smirk, “Oh…”

Next up, Minni’s face appears on the screen. Gary feels his heartbeat quickening at the sight of her, with her gorgeous blue eyes twinkling as always. The fact that she has the sunglasses the crane operator suggested Lucas to pack for her on top of her head causes his heart to swell.

The physics student is sitting on a bean bag, but is fast on standing up. “I’d totally ride you, babe!” She shouts, and then she can be seen running towards a handsome, dark-skinned lad, who’s sporting a moustache and a perfectly styled haircut. The clip cuts just when she’s getting close to the man.

Gary’s mouth hangs open, with him not knowing how to process Minni’s comment. Sure, he knows she’s cheeky and that she is quick to throw innuendos just for fun, much like him, but having her doing the same type of jokes with another group of blokes, who are their competition, makes the blond man feel weird— and that’s considering it could be just a joke, as he is trying not to overthink.

Following that portion of the video, a scene of the girls all hanging out by a pool can be seen. The shot focuses on Hope, who is smiling widely.

“But if we’re going to be in this new Villa, with a bunch of new boys…” she says, almost sounding suggestive.

Right after that, the footage gets cut once more, now Lottie being the one in the center of the screen. She’s on a night outfit and grinning at two men, one with dark skin and glasses, and the other one with a ginger mohawk and a full beard.

“We get how you’re the perfect bunch of men,” the tattooed girl says.

Next up, two figures show up, both lying on what seems to be Casa Amor’s daybeds. The first one is Marisol, who’s all dressed up in her party clothes, and the second one is the same ginger lad that appeared on screen before. They’re straight up snogging, which makes all of the original boys exchange amused glances, most of them happy for her, considering that the Spanish Islander has struggled so much with finding a connection in the Villa.

Following that clip, the scenery changes to daytime, and Priya’s glamorous figure is in the center of the frame. She’s sitting by the pool, her legs dangling in the water and apparently talking to someone who is out of the frame.

“You have nude photos?” she asks, cheekily.

“I mean, yeah. Model, remember?” a male voice responds, equally flirty.

His response causes her to grin, “Good to know…”

Just when Gary is asking himself why Minni hasn’t shown up properly in any of the scenes yet, her freckled face appears on the screen. The rest of the shot is dark, everything recorded through what seems to be the night cameras at Casa Amor’s communal bedroom. The soft and at ease smile she has on her lips makes the crane operator’s stomach flutter— even if it’s been just a day of not seeing her, he feels like he needed to see her smile.

Gary’s mood drifts drastically when he realizes that she’s smiling at someone, a pale guy with dark hair, who’s lying on his side right next to her. The blond’s stomach sinks when he perceives Minni’s sight flicker timidly to the bloke’s mouth, until he gets closer and plants a short kiss on her lips, which she returns. Then, the video ends and screen turns black, and the crane operator is left looking at his distressed reflection on it.

With his mind buzzing, Gary can’t quite grasp any idea properly, not knowing how to process what he just saw. He doesn’t feel betrayed, less cheated on. He just feels utterly pied off, and he has the sensation that he doesn’t have a say on the situation and that he shouldn’t even feel this way since they never agreed on anything before she left. Whereas his thoughts race against one another, Gary can only try to grab a bunch and shove them together in an attempt to comprehend how he is feeling about it all— _it was just one kiss, it wasn’t even a snog_ , he says to himself, stubbornly. But the way she looked at that man inevitably takes Gary back to the first days at the Villa; Minni used to look at _him_ like that, with that same flirty smirk, slightly scrunched nose and big blue eyes fixed on his. He can’t believe that, once again, the opportunity to have a romantic relationship with her is slipping in between his fingers like if it was water. For now, the only thing he knows for certain is that, first and foremost, he regrets ever having wanted to see footage of what the physics student is doing at Casa Amor. He was better off not knowing that she seems to be into another lad already.

The rest of the boys stay quiet, most equally baffled as they look at Gary’s phone. When Noah gets out of his perplexed state, his look instantly shifts to check on his blond mate to make sure he’s okay. The only emotion the bulky man expresses is confusion, much like everyone else.

“It... it felt so weird watching that,” Bobby hesitantly breaks the silence. A wince forms in his features at the idea of the girls preferring the Casa Amor guys over them. They looked pretty happy with them, after all.

Right after he finishes his phrase, most of the boys start exchanging their opinions on the video, everyone hurriedly speaking at the same time. Only Gary refrains from saying anything, choosing to shove his phone inside his pocket instead, his distraught baby blue eyes wandering between the rest of the Islanders.

“Why are you lads freaking out?” Jakub loud and overly confident voice overlaps the others, causing everyone to pay attention to him. “Those guys have nothing on us.”

His fellow male Islanders stop talking and fix their eyes on him, most of them puzzled or worried.

“Are you kidding me?” Bobby gasps. His golden orbs are wide as he stares at Jakub. “One of them is a _model_ that has _nude photos_ ,” he says, emphasizing his words with hand gestures.

“Yeah…” Lucas sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Even Lottie was pointing out how perfect those men are,” he adds. In this moment, the physiotherapist is trying not to look insecure, but the fact that he’s coupled up with Minni and he just saw her kissing one of those men is becoming a concerning idea for him. He doesn’t want to be at risk of getting dumped, less for sticking with a girl he picked just because she was the most attractive out of the ones that were left. In that moment, he just made a rushed decision, and surely now he admits to himself that he shouldn’t have picked her just for the sake of picking someone. “And did... did you see Minni?” he asks, his dark eyebrows knitting together in the process.

At the mention of the clips that involved Minni, Gary’s stomach, which at this point was already forming a tight knot, twists. He looks down and tries to avoid meeting everybody’s eyes, in an attempt to not show how taken aback he still is.

“Man,” Ibrahim exhales, and then shakes his head in disbelief. “Did she really get her head turned right away, that easily?”

Nobody knows how to respond to the golfer’s question, so everyone stays quiet for several seconds. The room is silent, with just the faint and animated chatter that can be heard coming from the girls at the dressing room interrupting the stillness of the ambiance.

Bobby is thoughtful, as he tries to find an explanation on why the blue-eyed girl could be all over the Casa Amor men in no time. She is surely a flirty lass, that doesn’t put much thought when it comes to kiss someone; the pastry chef is positive that most of the times Minni’s kissed someone is just to try, or to have fun, much like it happened between them when they were coupled up. There’s a high chance that the kiss didn’t mean a lot to her, and Bobby is willing to hold onto it until he gets proven wrong.

“I don’t think she will bring any of them back,” the Scottish confidently states.

The others turn their attention to him, even Gary, who seems to perk up.

“What do you mean?” Noah asks, confounded.

Bobby makes a pause, collecting his thoughts before trying to explain where he’s coming from. “I think I know her quite well by now. First, she likes to have fun. We can’t deny she’s all flirty and cute, and that sometimes she just grafts people just because she enjoys it and not because she necessarily wants to have a serious relationship with them. And, second, it takes a lot to her to emotionally commit to someone,” he starts explaining. “She may have snogged that lad or whatever, but do I think she’s truly ready to commit to him? I don’t think so.”

Not being convinced at all by the pastry chef’s explanation, Gary looks down again and sits on a bed. Then, he briefly rubs his face with both of his hands, already stressed out by the situation. “They were kissing _in bed_ , Bobby,” he mutters behind his fingers.

“We also kissed in a bed and she’s not exactly in love with me,” the Scottish answers with a simple shrug.

Confused but also kind of convinced for a moment, especially by the simplicity of his statement, Gary lifts his face once more to look at his mate. The crane operator still has doubts about where Minni and Bobby’s relationship stands, because he can’t put a finger on it. He thinks that, maybe, she is more into the Scottish than he realizes, or than he wants to admit in front of the rest of the lads, in an attempt to maintain the ‘friendship’ label.

Meanwhile, Bobby shakes his head at the realization that all of the boys still think he has something going on with Minni, even after the endless times both have said that they don’t see each other in a romantic light. They have denied any romantic connection between them so many times but the rumor is still going, and he’s growing quite tired of it. On top of this, he doesn’t imagine that the reason why Gary looks so stressed out right now it’s because he has feelings for the blue-eyed student.

“We kissed longer than she did with that bloke. And we were in a _friend-couple_ ,” Bobby continues nonchalantly. “Minni’s all about that. She likes to do stuff without commitments sometimes. And as long as both parties don’t catch feelings and it’s a mutual agreement, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

The group of guys exchange muddled looks, evidently not understanding his point of view, but neither ask anything else.

After a brief silence and noticing they’re not getting what he’s trying to say, Bobby speaks again. “I’ll give you the rundown,” he says, positively. “The fact that Minni kisses or flirts with a guy or girl, doesn’t mean anything. Either she does it on purpose to have a good time, or she’s so nice it comes off as it. Plus, she’s technically single, since her and Lucas agreed to be in a friend-couple, and before him she was also in a friend-couple with me,” The pastry chef explains. He glances at each boy briefly to make sure they are following his words, “She's also a team player. The girl surely watches out for her mates, so she will never risk Lucas getting dumped from the Villa by switching. No way.”

This last sentence gets Lucas thinking. He doesn’t know Minni that much and, although in this case it would be more logical to trust what her best mate in here is saying, the physiotherapist is quite ready to switch, mostly driven by his desire to keep himself safe from being dumped. Despite being quite determined in his choice, he prefers to keep it under wraps until the Recoupling comes, mainly because he knows for sure that the rest of the boys in the Villa won’t be pleased by the idea.

In front of him, Bobby makes a pause to think. He hasn’t even considered that perhaps the physics student did find her perfect match in Casa Amor. Right after blinking a couple of times, he begins to talk once more, “And if Minni does bring that lad back, I’m sure it’s because she has found _the one_ ,” the Scottish says. “She won’t be switching to him just because she snogged him a couple of times. If she brings someone, it will be because they have a connection and, I don’t know about you, gentlemen, but I’ll be nothing but happy and supportive to her,” he grins, already trying to lighten the mood, despite the weird feeling that the realization caused on him. Then, he straightens his back, his golden eyes trying to appear optimistic, “But, as I said, the chances of her actually falling for him are pretty low. It just seems like flirty banter to me.”

After considering his explanation and giving it a thought, Ibrahim nods, “You’re making a lot of sense.”

“That sounds pretty much like what Minni would do,” Noah smiles, convincing himself that Bobby might be right, particularly for the fact that he probably knows the brunette girl more than any of them. “She must be just having fun with those lads and keeping them on their toes.”

Bobby beams, pleased that his friends finally got his point. Just Lucas looks unconvinced, and Jakub seems like he’s not interested in the topic at all. Next, his sight lands on Gary, who hasn’t said a word since his previous moody remark. In an attempt to cheer him up, and still not guessing why he could be so tense about the freckled girl switching, the Scottish takes a step closer to his mate.

“Liven up, Gary,” he says, catching his gaze. “I’m sure our dear marshmallow won’t be coming back with another man anytime soon.”

As a response, the blond manages a strained smile, but doesn’t vocalize anything. He’s not sure about it, not even after having heard Bobby giving convincing reasons why she might not be really into those lads. A bunch of emotions swirl inside his head, and, on top of it, he tries to battle his urge to go and hit the gym. The truth is, Gary doesn’t have a sensation of betrayal yet, not even confusion on what he feels for the blue-eyed girl; he is just trying to accept that, perhaps, he got pied straight to the face— even after he put a note for Minni, she still was willing to kiss another bloke, although he can’t blame her since they never got to talk about how they felt. Maybe the crane operator’s feelings are stronger that what she feels for him. Still, what worries him the most for now is not the fact that Minni could have started fancying another man, but the fact that, if she comes back with him, Gary will have to swallow his anguish, because there’s no other bird he would rather be with.

**At Casa Amor’s bedroom – Noon.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwISVSxhjTc)**

As all the girls scatter across Casa Amor right after Lottie declares the beginning of her kissing competition, Minni decides to take a moment to process all of what they just saw in the video they got sent. Instead of participating in the contest, the brunette guesses it’s best for her to finally have the alone time she’s been craving since she got here. The only place she finds completely empty is the communal bedroom, with it being quiet and strangely calm.

At this point, Minni doesn’t even know if she wants to reflect about the footage of the boys that she just watched. Seeing Gary talking about wanting those girls to meet his nan and Noah speaking of doing bits on the first night, plus having Bobby bloody nowhere to be seen has been too much for her to try to take in already. She knows those clips could have been taken out of context, but there’s also the possibility that the boys truly got their heads turned. The physics student’s mind is so overwhelmed by thoughts that she doesn’t realize that Gary looked hardly into the new girls during the video.

Without knowing how to cope with all of those negative emotions, Minni sits down on her mattress and resorts to do what she does best, with it being convincing herself that if she ignores these sentiments and buries them deep within, they will go away eventually, and her only way of doing it now is finding a worthy distraction.

The young woman’s bright blue eyes wander across the room, until they land on the physics book Lucas packed for her. She can’t believe it’s been sitting on her nightstand since they arrived here. With a swift motion, she grabs it and admires the cover for a second; out of all the books she brought here, it’s her favorite. _Modern General Relativity: Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Cosmology_ , she reads, a small smile softening her tense features.

Ready to dive into her beloved book, the brunette’s hand eagerly flips open the hard cover alongside the first few pages. Just then, she notices an odd color showing through the pages— she doesn’t remember ever putting sticky notes on this book. Confused, Minni goes back to the first pages and sees a light blue sticky note with words messily written with eyeliner.

_No worries, love. You still have the high ground._

_Have fun!_

_-G._

Minni doesn’t notice that she’s crying until one of her tears falls on the book’s paper, luckily missing Gary’s note. Those couple of modest yet meaningful phrases take her back to the first days in the Villa, when everything was simpler. It was just two weeks ago, but it seems like it has passed so much time since she and Gary were cuddling on the same bed, with her giggling between his arms as he tickled her mercilessly. She longs those days when they would have sneaky kisses and were shamelessly flirty around one another, when it didn’t feel like there was a bunch of people in the middle.

She surely didn’t expect this, less finding out after having been away for almost three days already. Air gets caught in her throat as more tears fall, clouding her vision. Minni would’ve never thought it would take a simple, tangible gesture for her to snap out of this Casa Amor daze, to make her notice that all the attention and pampering she’s been getting here was just part of a mirage, and for her to realize that her heart has been back in the paw-like, warm hands of the lovable and goofball personality of a humble crane operator, who is probably waiting for her in the main Villa.

And, just as quick as all of those heart-warming memories of how much she likes Gary wash all over her, they’re replaced with regret for having lead Carl on without intending to. All of the raven-haired man’s kind words and gestures, how special he’s made her feel during her stay in Casa Amor suddenly turn into a pile of bricks that is dropped on top of her with strong force. Until now, Minni didn’t realize that the connection with him, although it’s surely something unique, lacks _the spark_ , deep desire and adoration she feels for Gary. Minni can’t believe that none of these days she’s asked herself if what she feels for Carl is stronger that what her feels for the blond man, deciding to just enjoy being spoiled and _wanted_ instead. In honest words, the blue-eyed girl doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with Carl, but she can’t ignore that fact that all she wants to do now is to bury her face onto Gary’s strong and broad chest, to get engulfed in the smell of his peppermint bodywash and get enveloped between his bulky yet soft arms.

What hurts the most for now is not even being apart from Gary, it’s that after reading this note Minni is sure that he’s been loyal even if they didn’t come to the agreement of sticking to each other, and that she hasn’t done the same under the stupid assumption that his flirty character would probably lead him to crack on with one of the new girls straight away.

A wave of remorse makes her body shiver, both for perhaps having illusioned Carl with the idea that she will be taking him to the main Villa and for having betrayed Gary’s trust somehow. Minni covers her eyes with her pale, slim hands as she sobs quietly onto her palms, with no idea how to move past this.

In that instant, the door of the bedroom clicks open and the sound of slim heels echoes on the walls. The physics student doesn’t even bother lifting her head until she hears a feminine gasp coming from the person that has just entered.

“Babes,” Priya says, hurrying to sit beside the freckled girl. She places her delicate hand on her back, in an attempt to soothe her, “What’s happened?”

At first, Minni thinks about pretending that it’s no big deal, or to lie about the reasons why she’s crying, but then she figures out that Priya won’t drop the subject until she gets a convincing response, and she doesn’t have the energy to craft one in this moment. So, because of that, the blue-eyed girl decides to confess and let out all of those sensations she’s been storing in her chest.

“I— I didn’t know…” Minni whimpers faintly behind her hands, being cut by her own quivering breathing.

Concerned, Priya brushes her hand over the younger girl’s back, “What did you not know, hun?”

“That he liked me this much,” a soft whisper escapes Minni’s lips.

Just then, the older girl sees the book sitting on her lap, a note with muddled handwriting standing out in black color. After reading it rapidly and figuring out who the “G” signature belongs to, Priya’s dark eyes open wide. She suddenly remembers what happened almost a week ago, during one of the Recouplings, when she noticed how Gary’s face fell when Minni decided to pick Bobby. She always knew he kind of still fancied the young woman, but is now surprised to get such an evident confirmation.

The older Islander’s trail of thought gets interrupted by Minni’s quiet voice, who is still hiding behind her hands but leaning towards her in an unconscious seek for support.

“He’s probably been waiting for me and all I’ve done is crack on with Carl,” she murmurs, guilt present in her strained vocals. “I’ve been so bloody stupid.”

“Don’t say that, hun. You’re just confused,” Priya is quick to reply, wrapping her toned arms around her friend. She’s so used to seeing Minni being her usual happy persona, a smile always in her face that it hits her harder seeing her this upset. While she waits for the blue-eyed girl’s crying to die down, Priya rubs her back in an attempt to calm her down, almost in a motherly way. Soon, culpability also reaches her mind and there’s something she knows that she needs to tell Minni right off the bat. “I feel so guilty now, babes,” the dark red-haired girl confesses. “I was the one who separated you two in the first place.”

Her declaration makes the brunette lift her head to look at her, watery blue eyes meeting hers. Then, she shakes her head and lets out a sigh, seeming to be calmer now, “Don’t say that. You couldn’t have known.”

Priya sighs at how comprehensive the young woman is, and decides to let the topic go in order to make her express herself so she can be of any help; the state agent guesses that Minni’s crying is mostly caused by her feeling confused on whether to go back to Gary or to take Carl to the Villa. Now that the student’s face is not hidden behind her hands, Priya’s own fingers, adorned with expensive golden rings, fly towards her cheeks and dry tears over her freckled cheekbones. Her gesture makes Minni attempt a strained smile.

“Listen, Minerva,” the older girl starts speaking, as she finishes drying her friend’s tears. “Any of these men will be so happy _and so lucky_ if you choose them, so the decision is in your hands and your hands only. I know you could be an indecisive person sometimes, but, hun, you will have to make a choice sooner or later, and nobody can judge you for that. I’m here to help you with that if you need me, alright?”

Appreciating the woman’s efforts of supporting her and making her feel better, Minni nods, but doesn’t say anything else. More than being conflicted on who she likes the most, she’s worried about causing Carl to believe that she’s completely into him, when she’s just now coming to the conclusion that she’s not.

When the physics student doesn’t manage to articulate a response, Priya realizes that she continues to be distressed despite her reassurance. Her words, even though they were kindly accepted, seemed to not have caused major relief in her. Now, the estate agent starts thinking that maybe having to choose between two men is not Minni’s major problem, at least not for now. After all, it only took one small note _from Gary_ to make the brunette burst into tears.

“Although, now that I think about it…” Priya begins to say, followed by a hesitant sigh. “I think we both know where your heart is, don’t we?” Minni’s silence and slightly widened eyes only serve as a confirmation to her, so she continues with her idea. “You have to stop hiding your feelings for Gary, hun,” the dark red-haired woman states. “It’s been too long. If you’re not with the man you want in here, why staying in the Villa in the first place?”

The only way the younger Islander reacts is by looking down at her own lap, almost embarrassed and with a small pout on her lips. She lets out a small sob, not wanting to start crying again. Minni hates being in this position, and she knows that Priya is right; she’s been wasting so much time by hiding her feelings and trying to forcefully put a ‘mate’ label on Gary, when she’s always been into him, more than any of the guys that she’s met in during her stay in Love Island.

She’s just starting to sink in sadness when she feels Priya’s hand on her chin, making her lift her face and look up.

“If you had any doubt about him on whether he fancies you or not, he already proved that _he does_ with this note right here,” the woman says, determined. Her voice tone is so motherly that it makes Minni’s eyes inevitably get teary once again. “You can’t keep playing this hide and seek game with each other anymore, less when you _both_ like each other,” she adds.

The communal bedroom stays quiet, with Minni’s quiet sniffs being the only thing breaking the silence. She has no idea of what to say, mostly because she’s not good at expressing herself when she’s upset. Her instincts push her to keep quiet and to bottle up her unhappiness, so she struggles a lot when trying to open up to Priya about what she is feeling right now.

The state agent waits for a moment, so the younger girl can gather her thoughts, before asking, “You like him a lot, don’t you, babes?”

Trying really hard to open up, Minni manages to nod. Once she relaxes a bit, the knot in her throat slowly unties itself and she’s able to get talking. “Ever since we stopped being in a couple, my head just keeps going back to him, Priya,” she confesses, timidly drying the tears that stain the corners of her blue eyes. “I can’t switch it off, even if I graft with fucking everyone in sight to try and forget about him,” she finishes saying, her sad tone turning into an angry and frustrated one.

Then, Priya sighs, feeling overwhelmed by the tough spot Minni is in, and can’t imagine how the younger girl must feel. She suddenly notices how good and subtle Minni and Gary were while trying to hide their crushes on each other; both were apparently enthused on getting to know other people, at least in Priya’s eyes. Even Lottie has been pointing out non-stop since they arrived to Casa Amor that Gary better stays loyal, hinting that they still have something going on and making jokey comments about how sorry he’ll be if he cracks on. On top of that, the only things that disclosed Minni and Gary’s fancying one another were how flirty they got from time to time, but everyone pretty much assumed it was just given their cheeky personalities. Even the ten rating the crane operator gave her in the Snogathon was deemed as just part of the game. Currently, Priya can’t believe the fact that both wanted to be together was right under her nose, and every other Islander’s nose, and nobody seemed to figure it out.

And now that she knows how much the brunette girl fancies Gary, and has a guess of how much he likes her back, Priya’s thoughts immediately go to the boy who is in the middle of this. “And what are you going to do with Carl, then?” she asks, worriedly. “Do you want to take him to the main Villa anyway?”

Her question makes Minni bite the inside of her lip lightly. Her blue eyes have finally dried and she can now see more clearly the concerned expression on her friend’s face. Deep in thought for a couple of seconds, a small wrinkle forms between the freckled girl’s eyebrows. Just now, she comes to terms with what she _really_ wants, and what she has to do to make it happen.

Before beginning to explain, a shaky breath gets out of Minni’s lips. “If I take Carl to the Villa, I think I’ll always be on the fence and indecisive. I don’t want to put him in that position,” she responds. “I won’t bring him back just to get him in a love triangle, as much as I still fancy him.”

Surprised of how resolute and sound the young woman’s words are, Priya’s eyes widen slightly. She blinks a couple of times, taking in that there’s a high chance that Minni is going to really pie Carl off, “You know what you have to do, right?”

Feeling tense all over, the blue-eyed girl nods. If she wants to get back with Gary, she will have to explain everything to Carl and then let him go, because she can’t keep leading him on.

**At the Villa’s lawn – Evening.**

Splashing and feminine laughter fills the Villa’s thin and nightly air, as Gary is sitting on a stool, drinking beer straight out from the bottle. When trying to focus on the bitter taste of the beverage in his mouth, the crane operator realizes that he has missed it, considering that he’s mostly been drinking bubbly champagne and fancy cocktails since he got to the Villa. Back home, a good ol’ Beck’s was more than enough— Minni’s favorite drink, he remembers. He can’t believe that even the taste of beer brings memories related to her back into his mind.

In front of him and across the counter, Noah is sipping a freshly made orange juice. Right now, his quietness is somehow unsettling; the dark-skinned librarian is often silent, but not _this_ type of silent.

Nobody has really wanted to talk about the girls’ video asides from the chat they had right after watching the footage, each of the boys resorting to their own coping mechanisms when it comes to stressful situations: Gary has been trying to play it cool, Noah staying oddly quiet and Bobby cooking such a large quantity of food that the Islanders are sure that not even if they merged the two Villa’s together right now people will be able to finish it; currently, the Scottish is making pancakes with Emily, while having a friendly chat.

Not too far away, at the fire pit, Blake, Lucas and Jakub have been talking non-stop. Gary’s curious light blue eyes flicker towards them a couple of times before getting fixed on his beer again, not wanting to be nosey. The only thing that makes him lift his gaze back at the lawn is a loud splash coming from the pool, as Jakub has just wildly dived into the water. In there, most of the girls and Ibrahim had been having a really good time since the evening began.

Whereas he takes a long sip of his drink, Gary’s sight follows Blake while she parts ways from Lucas. Since this morning, the Chathamite has noticed how close those two have become, out of the blue. At first, he was happy for them and relieved that Blake stopped chasing him to have private chats, but then he started feeling tense by the idea of Lucas wanting to switch, something that makes it possible for Minni to be at risk of getting dumped when she comes back to the main Villa.

On top of that, now that he has stopped avoiding Blake as she is evidently interested in Lucas now, Gary has realized how much she acts like Minni; from the enthusiastic talks about her career, to her hand gestures, to the way she chooses glittery outfits and even the path of freckles across her nose and cheekbones. The only explanation for him to not have seen those similarities before is that he has been evading her since she was so blatant on trying to graft him. And now, to just further his confirmation on how he feels about Minni, he’s come to the conclusion that not even a girl who resembles her so much, who acts like her and dresses like her, can get his head to turn. He doesn’t feel attracted to her even after noticing all of those parallels. The truth is, he’s just spent all day thinking of Minni and what’s going on between her and that lad.

Gary’s crystal blue irises observe Blake as she walks towards the outdoors kitchen with a wide smile on her face. She has an overly confident attitude the crane operator has never seen on her before. Once she gets close enough, the brunette goes straight towards Emily and places her hands on both of her shoulders to get her attention.

“Hey, Ems,” Blake says, attempting a quiet voice. The kitchen is so silent that, even with the giggles echoing on the lawn, the rest of the boys are able to hear her well. Despite this, none of them is really interested in their chat, not even Bobby, who is right next to them. “Wanna help me with something?”

Emily looks at her friend with wide eyes, curious. “Sure,” she answers to the other girl. “What is it?”

“I’m unpacking,” Blake announces in a rather loud whisper, her sight sparkling all the while.

“Are you serious?” the green-haired Islander asks her, excited.

“Yeah, I’m staying. Lucas promised he’s switching to me,” the brunette responds, confidently.

After hearing that, Gary stops mid-sip of his beer and puts the bottle down slowly. As soon as Blake’s statement skinks in, his stomach knots, his insides coiling at the new and unexpected information. From the frying area, Bobby notices that the blond’s face has changed completely— he looks upset while he gives the girls a poisonous side glare. It doesn’t take much time for the Scottish to process the brunette’s comment too, and his whole body goes stiff, his hand holding the frying pan tighter. Still sitting quietly across Gary, Noah just stares at his glass, blinking multiple times to clear his thoughts.

A huge smile spreads across Blake’s face as she takes Emily’s hand and pulls her out of the kitchen. Bobby pretends he doesn’t mind seeing them going away, when, in reality, those last words Blake has just said are still echoing inside his head. Without acknowledging the boys, both girls walk happily towards the Villa and into the bedroom, disappearing behind the large curtains that cover the picture windows.

Bobby waits until they have disappeared to turn to his mates and whisper, “Tell me I wasn’t the only one who heard that.”

With that, Noah finally looks up, his dark eyes showing confusion, “I heard it too.”

Not saying anything just yet, Gary clenches his jaw. His hand grips his beer bottle as he stares at the emptiness. More than feeling angry, he is frustrated by how quick Lucas was to decide on switching to Blake, completely ignoring that fact that, at least, he owes Minni to stay loyal, considering that he picked her when he didn’t even fancy her in the first place. If she comes back single, the crane operator can’t imagine how down she will feel, but he is sure that she will probably feel worse than after the latest Recoupling; Lucas switching will just be another way of telling her that he doesn’t take her feelings into consideration. Gary can’t stand having someone make Minni feel that she belongs to a second or third choice category yet again, and less add to it that she could get sent come because of that lad’s rushed decision.

Meanwhile the blond man is deep in thought and trying hard to quench his irritation with no success whatsoever, Bobby shakes his head in disbelief and turns off the kitchen fire, leaving the pancake he was making half-cooked. “Does that mean Minni could—?” he starts asking, but stops speaking when Gary suddenly stands up and storms towards the fire pit, where Lucas and Ibrahim are having a chat.

“Gary?” Noah calls him as he walks past him, but the crane operator ignores him and keeps on walking.

Rapidly, the librarian and Bobby follow, both with worried expressions. Their hearts are pounding like the clappers at how Gary’s entire chill attitude has turned into a tense aura, his face showing nothing but annoyance and outrage. None of them could’ve ever pictured such a light-hearted man so pissed off.

As soon as Gary gets close enough to where Ibrahim and Lucas are, he plants himself in front of the physiotherapist with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed, defiantly. The pair’s eyes widen, obviously not having expected the bulky man’s anger to be directed at any of them.

“You really going to switch?” the blond speaks. A deep frown lowers his dark eyebrows and his mouth forms a scowl. This, together with his muscular frame and intense expression turn out rather intimidating.

Despite how imponent the younger man looks right now, Lucas frowns back, being even confused at first by his outburst. He doesn’t know how he found out, since him and Blake agreed on keeping his decision a secret until the Recoupling arrived, or until he found a proper moment to tell the rest of the boys. “Gary, mate, what the—?” the Asian begins, but the blue-eyed man is quick to interrupt him.

“Are you bloody switching?” Gary insists, his exasperation growing at a fast pace.

“Why do you think I owe you an explanation?” Lucas replies then, standing up and ready to butt heads with the Chathamite.

Sensing that the situation could get out of control, Ibrahim stands up too and puts one arm between them. “Guys, chill,” he says, concerned.

Just then, Noah and Bobby arrive to the fire pit and stop on their tracks when witnessing the scene. They stay behind Gary, not knowing what to do to diffuse the argument.

“No, Rahim,” the crane operator growls. “Not when this knob could get Minni kicked out of the Villa.”

“I mean, Gary has a point,” Bobby agrees from behind, slowly walking closer in a calmer attitude.

Lucas sighs already displeased by having them criticize his decision, “Oh, come on. You’re all acting like if you didn’t see the video this morning. It’s obvious that she’s going to switch too.”

A tense silence follows, with Gary wrinkling his nose, unconvinced. If, like Bobby said this morning, the chance of Minni bringing another lad here is low, she will probably come back to see Lucas having switched mainly because he was scared of ending up single. More than being pissed off by the possibility of Minni getting dumped, Gary is pissed off because he knows she will could feel like she belongs to a second-choice category yet again, that she’s almost expendable, and there’s no way he will let someone make her feel like that. Besides, if Lucas didn’t pick her out of nowhere, she’d probably be coupled up with Bobby or even him, and they’re not thinking of switching anytime soon.

The physiotherapist’s response causes Bobby to let out an irked sigh, “She’s _not_ going to switch. It’s Minni we’re talking about, she was probably just having fun.”

“Admit it, Bobby,” Lucas tells him with a glare. “She looked head over heels for those lads,” he adds. “There was at least one clip of her right-out snogging. And that ride thing, really?” The Asian rolls his eyes at how much it bothered him to see something like that, not realizing that he’s making the video sound like something bigger than it is, “Besides, she hasn’t exactly been a one-partner girl either.”

After hearing his last comment, Gary doesn’t think twice and takes a step closer. “Oi, watch your mouth,” the blond snaps.

In that instant, the tension between the two reaches its peak. The physiotherapist also takes a step towards him, “Don’t you tell me wh—” he replies, his arms going up with intentions to push Gary away, but Ibrahim reacts quickly and gets in the middle once again.

The Villa’s calm night ambiance soon gets filled with yelling, as both Gary and Lucas raise their voices and start speaking at the same time, their thundering vocals reverberating across the lawn. Even the crickets and cicadas seem to get quiet as the men’s argument just gets louder and louder. The dispute also catches the attention of the rest of the Islanders, who remain silent and just staring from the pool, all of them shocked.

In this moment, all Gary can think of is how enraged and offended he feels for having Lucas talking about Minni in that way. He’s seeing red all of the sudden and can’t help escalating the older Islander’s own rage.

Immediately noticing where things are heading towards, Noah reaches out to Gary and holds him back, preventing him to get closer to Lucas. In the meantime, Bobby tries to stand in the middle as Ibrahim makes the effort to pull Lucas back. It takes a lot of effort to separate the two men, whilst they keep shouting at each other.

“Hey! Hey!” Bobby yells in an attempt to get their attention. He puts one hand on Gary’s chest and points at the Asian with the other.

“Say something like that about her again and I’ll—” the blond barks at Lucas, completely ignoring the Scottish.

That’s the only distinguishable phrase that is heard, since everyone starts speaking at once yet again.

Between baritone voices arguing restlessly, Bobby tries to break the discussion for a second time, his throat aching already from so much screaming, “Stop it, stop it!”

It’s the distress on his mate’s voice that makes Gary snap out of his confrontational state. The crane operator does his best to shut his mouth, his face still colored red as his anger has not nearly died down. Willing to turn this dispute into a more civilized conversation, despite not feeling like wanting to reason with Lucas, he loosens his tug on Noah’s grip, causing his mate to let go.

Once Gary’s arguing stops, Lucas does the same. The men keep quiet for a few seconds, glaring at each other menacingly.

“I’m making a smart decision,” Lucas begins, deciding to break the silence. Then he proceeds to shove Ibrahim away and prepare to stand his ground, “From what we all saw in that video—”

“You weren’t even there!” Gary interrupts him, with Noah still having a hand on his chest to prevent him from stepping forward. “Why in bloody hell are you saying it like if you saw it in first person?”

As the situation is starting to get on his nerves already, Bobby cuts in with a more peaceful approach. He is surely agreeing with Gary, but doesn’t want the argument to go back at the shouting match it was a few seconds ago. “We should not be jumping to conclusions. The clips could have been taken out of context,” he says with a paused voice tone.

“I don’t know how kisses could be taken out of context, though,” Ibrahim comments.

Despite knowing that what his mate just said is kind of true, Gary scowls at him. Before he can reply, Noah, who hasn’t spoken since all of this started, decides to talk, “We shouldn’t be using the video to decide if we switch or not, anyway. Most of the clips could be out of context and pieced together to cause drama.”

“No, we shouldn’t,” the crane operator seconds, bitterly. “Lucas is just using it as an excuse to switch, cos he picked Minni when he didn’t even like her in the first place.”

“Gary—” Noah warns, trying to stop him from speaking too much.

While clenching his jaw, Lucas’s dark eyes are already digging holes in the Chathamite.

Now that he blurted out the words that he has been storing inside his chest since he saw Minni distressed in the kitchen after the Recoupling, Gary feels like he has to let out all of that resentment that has been brewing in him since that day. The only thing he’s thinking of now is how angry he is at the fact that someone has made her feel underappreciated and, on top of that, doesn’t seem to care if she gets kicked out of the Villa or not.

“You saw us on TV before coming in here. You absolutely knew there are blokes that genuinely fancy her waiting in line to pick her,” Gary continues. Next, his finger points at Lucas as he spits more angered words, “But ya’ sorry ass said her name in the Recoupling anyway, after giving a pitiful speech to hide the fact she wasn’t even your second choice.”

Mildly shocked by how upfront the blond man is being, Lucas raises his eyebrows. Soon, an ironic expression takes over his face. “So you’re angry because you couldn’t pick her,” he states, convinced. “Is that it?”

Not knowing what to do anymore, Noah and Ibrahim exchange panicked glances. In the meantime, Bobby looks down, everything being too tense for him to try and get in the middle again.

After realizing the slight accuracy of the physiotherapist’s affirmation, Gary feels somehow exposed. However, not being able to pick Minni isn’t the reason why he is angry right now, and he knows it very well. Gritting his teeth inside his mouth, he takes a second to think and then opens his mouth to reply, “No, mate. I’m angry because she got picked by someone who doesn’t make her feel appreciated. Did you notice how sad she was after that Recoupling? She felt like rubbish because she wasn’t of your choice! You got her stuck in a couple she didn’t want to be in!”

Lucas rolls his eyes, and chooses to disregard the crane operator’s comment regarding Minni’s feelings. “Oh, and let me guess: you’re the only one in here who appreciates her enough,” he breathes out, almost exasperated. “Don’t vent on me, really. It’s not my fault she doesn’t like you back, mate.”

“Bruv,” Ibrahim gasps at how direct he’s being. He surely knows that the older Islander pulled a nerve with those words.

All of the boys’ eyes turn to look at Gary now, expecting him to look hurt, but they meet a collected expression instead. Even if Lucas’ words stung, the blond man keeps his cool and shakes his head with humility. “I don’t care if she fancies me back or not, lad. I just want her to be with someone who makes her feel valued,” he declares, his voice sounding deeper than usual. He doesn’t want to admit his crush on Minni to his mates like this, but now that Lucas got it out in the open, he can’t lie about it either, “She would’ve probably stayed coupled up with Bobby if you hadn’t gotten in the way, and he made her happy.”

At the mention of the possibility of having stayed coupled up with Minni, Bobby’s face saddens. His honey colored eyes lift to meet Gary’s. The muscular man seems to be way calmer now, not even trying to get back at Lucas anymore and just concerned about Minni. Still, the tension of his muscles show, straining part of his shirt, and his husky voice reveals that there’s still a bit of anger left in him,

“If you stayed a couple, would you have switched, Bobby? Even after seeing that bloody video?” the crane operator asks him.

The Scottish shakes his head immediately, and then proceeds to look down at the floor. “Never. I wouldn’t have even considered it,” he responds with a quiet voice, sincerely. He knows that if Minni comes back with one of the Casa Amor lads he will feel like a fool for being so convinced that she would stay loyal, but he prefers that than doubting his best friend in the Villa.

After that, Gary turns to Lucas. “See?” he asks, patting Bobby’s back and not quite measuring his strength on him, which makes the pastry chef wince a bit. “He should be coupled up with her, not you. If you took away her chance of being in a secure couple, you at least owe her to stay loyal this time,” he finishes, jabbing his finger towards the physiotherapist’s chest.

Although the tension has toned down from the blond’s end, Lucas is still irritated, especially by having half of the boys criticizing his decision. For this reason, he’s less willing to give it a second thought. Annoyed, he shove’s Gary’s finger away, “I’m done with this rubbish. You don’t get to decide if I ‘owe’ her something or not. I don’t owe you fucking explanations either and I don’t really care if she gets dumped, it’s not my responsibility.”

With that, Lucas storms off, heading towards the communal bedroom. Immediately, Gary attempts to follow, but Noah stops him with his hand and shaking his head. Bobby sighs and rubs his face with his hand, hoping that this was the end of the stressful argument.

Being convinced by Noah’s gesture of not to pushing things any further, now Gary decides to try and calm himself down. The crane operator lets himself fall on the bench around the fire pit, his elbows resting on his knees. He’s still fuming on the inside, but makes the effort to swallow his anger, nonetheless.

In the meantime, Ibrahim sits at a polite distance and Noah stays close to Gary. Maintaining the silence, the librarian pats his younger mate’s back reassuringly.

“Bloody hell, I reckon this is the first time a lad has pissed me off so much to the point I genuinely wanted to punch him straight in the face,” the blond growls, massaging his temples.

“It was really stressful,” Noah replies. “And I’m glad it didn’t escalate further.”

After that, there’s a moment of quietness, everyone mainly processing the situation.

It just takes a few minutes of silence for Bobby to voice his worried thoughts, “Gary’s right. Minni didn’t deserve what happened at that Recoupling,” he murmurs, honestly. The pastry chef can’t believe he didn’t notice how bummed out she was about having being picked by Lucas, but then he remembers that she was avoiding everyone, something she always does when she’s sad. “I’m not saying she should be coupled up with me, necessarily, especially because we agreed to be just friends and we’re here to find love, but I’m sure as hell that she doesn’t deserve to be chosen by process of elimination and then switched on.”

Yet again, the fire pit gets engulfed by silence, but all of the boys in there nod in agreement. Even Ibrahim agrees, since he chose Lottie because he sincerely wanted to try things with her but got his head turned by Shannon during the first day of the new girls being here; even if he’s switching, he was planning on doing it for days and his decision was not triggered by the video that they got sent this morning.

Just then, the golfer decides to speak, “Is it weird that now I want her to switch just so she stays safe?”

“I don’t want Minni to go home because of this,” Noah sighs. The librarian has always appreciated how much Minni brings to the Villa, not just by always being a mediator when solving conflicts but also because there’s always a happy and lighthearted halo surrounding her, something that brings everyone’s spirits up. On top of that, he is sure that Gary will be gutted if she was ever to get dumped from the Island before he can get the opportunity to try things with her again.

“Let’s just hope for the best,” Bobby declares, with his honey-colored irises glued to the deck below him.

From one the corner of the bench, Ibrahim has gotten evidently distracted from the current conversation and is eyeing anxiously at the pool area. “Someone didn’t waste time,” he comments, frowning.

All of the remaining boys turn to look at the pool and see Jakub surrounded by most of the new girls, with them fawning all over him, staring at how he flexes his muscles and grins confidently, of course having taken the opportunity that the rest of the lads were busy arguing to gather all the girls’ attention for himself. Noah raises an eyebrow and Gary simply scrunches his nose. At least someone is happy with all the mess that being split into two separate Villa’s has caused, the original boys think, bitterly.

**At Casa Amor’s swinging chair – Evening.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCTMq7xvdXU)**

With nervousness filling her blood stream, Minni arrives to the quiet area with the secluded hanging bed. Soon, she spots Carl sitting there, waiting for her, and is quick on trying not to maintain eye contact for too long as she approaches. Ever since their brief morning chat, the raven-haired man has noticed that she’s been avoiding pretty much everyone, particularly the lads and including him, until this evening’s party started. He guesses that the young woman might be distant given the fact that he rejected her gestures of affection not once but twice this morning. So, after giving her the space she needed for the day, he feels ready to let her know that he didn’t mean much by it.

“Hey,” Minni greets shyly. “Good thing I find you alone in here. I wanted to talk to you about something,” she informs, tucking some strands of her chocolate brown hair behind her hear.

As she sits down beside him, Carl looks at her attentively. Then, he sighs, “If this is because of what happened this morning, I completely understand that you might have gotten upset,” he says with a calmed voice tone. “We were not clicking in that moment, but I reckon it’s because we have different ways of showing affection, is all,” the entrepreneur finishes, smiling honestly at the girl next to him.

“I…” the blue-eyed student breathes out, going blank for a moment as she avoids his eyes. If she felt embarrassed by having to pie him off, now she feels terrible because he is trying to make things right and willing to talk through the issue they had. Next, she takes a second to gather her thoughts and reminds herself that she has to stop doing things just to make other people happy, and begin to do things for herself. Once she feels prepared, the young woman speaks again, quietly, “Actually, that isn’t exactly why I wanted to have a word with you.”

“What is it, then?” Carl asks, quite confused now. He doesn’t recall ever seeing Minni so serious before, at least not in person. He is starting to suspect that something’s not right.

The girl makes a small pause before starting to speak, “Since we arrived here to Casa Amor, you boys have made us feel so welcome, especially me. For that, I’m thankful, considering that you all have made me feel so special. But today, I realized that this same… daze that I’ve been in since we got here prevented me to see the full picture, if that makes sense. It prevented me to realize that…” Minni pauses her explanation, her voice becoming shaky all of the sudden. After taking a deep breath, she continues, “That I left someone in the Villa that I really care about.”

The brunette girl hasn’t even mentioned Gary’s name and her eyes are already swimming in the beginning of tears, not just because she misses him so much now and feels that she’s been unfaithful even if they’re not together, but because she really doesn’t want to hurt Carl’s feelings by dumping him this unexpectedly.

“I thought that this person had forgotten about me or simply didn’t care too much if I got my head turned, until today I found a note from him in the physics book that was in my suitcase. I didn’t know the note was there, and it hit me really hard when I saw it, because it reminded me how strong my feelings are for him,” she confesses. “And, above all, it reminded me that he is actually waiting for me to come back to the main Villa to see if things can finally work out between us.”

When hearing her explanation, Carl knows perfectly that she’s talking about Gary. The truth is, the Irish man has always known that he was stepping into an uncertain territory when he decided to go for Minni— he is no fool. He watched the show and saw that she couldn’t get over Gary no matter how many times they got pulled away from each other, and that the blond lad felt pretty much the same. Carl also took notice of the comments in social media, of people just wanting the two of them to confess their feelings for each other, so he’s always been aware that there is a chance for them to come back together and, on top of that, have so many people rooting for them. Weirdly enough, Minni and Gary have always been a popular couple even if they weren’t coupled up for more than a pair of days, and that’s mainly because they have quietly been all over each other ever since. _Star-crossed lovers_ , they’re starting to get called jokingly and also lovingly by the media, because whenever they’re determined on going back to one another, something inevitably goes wrong. Because of all these things, it doesn’t really shock Carl to know that Minni has changed her mind and decided to go for Gary once more; if any, the brunet man feels disappointed, because he really fancies her and thought that had managed to finally turn her head.

“The thing is… I’m telling you all of this because I feel that I made you think I was going to stick to you and take you back to the main Villa, even though I never mentioned it,” Minni says, looking down at the shimmery fabric of her party dress, which makes the glittery makeup of her eyes shine against the artificial light that surrounds the swinging chair. “I’m not saying that I don’t like you, because I do, but… I have stronger feelings for someone else and I don’t want to lead you on. I don’t want to end up hurting you, Carl.”

It’s her last sincere statement that reaches deep into the entrepreneur’s heart; the honesty with which Minni cares about others, feels things and expresses herself is one of the traits that caught his eye when they first met. After all, he is thankful that she was able to be straightforward about this, and even aches him that she looks so stressed and worried about the possibility of damaging him in some way, particularly because he understands that Love Island is a place to crack on without major commitments and that most people in here are not necessarily watching over other’s feelings, but more caring about their own and chasing what they want— another girl, probably, would have pied him off straight to the face without feeling major remorse.

Patiently, the older Islander waits for Minni to finish explaining herself, giving her time to say everything that she wants to say.

“I reckon you’re such a good bloke, and you’ve been nothing but sweet to me since I met you,” the blue-eyed girl continues. A single tear escapes her eyes and she is quick to dry it, “That’s why I feel even more guilty for having made you feel like this could go further.”

A sigh escapes Carl’s lips, not wanting her to blame herself for simply fancying someone else. And, despite that he likes her so much that he finds hard to let go, he knows that he has to, because that’s what she wants.

“Hey, don’t punish yourself for it, okay?” He catches her attention by placing his hand on her shoulder deliberately. He does his best to rub soothing circles with his thumb as the girl dries a couple of more tears, knowing that Minni tends to feel better when having physical comfort, “After meeting you, getting into the Villa wasn’t my main goal anymore. We had good fun together, and getting to know you is an experience that I would never forget.”

With this being the first time he speaks since she started talking, the girl is impressed by how well he is seeming to be taking the news. He doesn’t look resentful and, most of all, he doesn’t look like he’s faking it either. Being beyond alleviated and also not knowing how to voice her relief, Minni just jumps to hug him. Evidently, Carl’s first instinct is to pull back, but he stays because he recognizes that she is just trying to make him feel appreciated even if she’s pying him off.

When she pulls back, all he sees is big blue eyes with a twinkle that he didn’t notice was missing in them. They’re also free from tears, which is something that makes him happy.

“I really hope you find someone out there,” Minni says, placing her delicate hand on his shoulder.

Carl smiles at her, sincerely. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Do what you have to do, what you think will make you happy,” he tells her. “And thanks for not leading me on,” he adds, understanding that it would’ve been easier for her to keep quiet about her decision until the Recoupling.

His response causes Minni to smile back, the tension she’s been accumulating in her muscles since this morning easing off. Then, she leans back against the swinging chair’s and looks up at the night sky. The pair stays in silence, both processing everything and just being in each other’s company.

Suddenly, Carl starts thinking about the possibility of Lucas switching and leaving Minni single. If that’s the case, bringing him to the Villa would be the blue-eyed girl’s only way of not being at risk of getting dumped from the Island.

“Have you outweighed the risk versus reward ratio of your choice already, considering the Lucas variable?” he asks, worried. Although his technical language could obviously turn his question into something confusing, he knows that Minni will understand what he means, and he felt like he couldn’t ask it in any other way. “I know a good probability formula if you need some help,” the entrepreneur says, trying to make a science joke but also being willing to help if she gets concerned on the subject.

The brunette girl giggles at his comment. “I already have, actually,” she candidly smirks.

“And how does it look like?” Carl grins back, being genuinely curious.

His question makes Minni picture Gary’s classic happy beam stretching his bearded cheeks once he sees her coming back to the Villa single. This is honestly enough to fill her heart with contentment— she’s not even bothered by the idea that she might end up single if Lucas chooses one of the new girls to couple up with. All Minni can imagine is how joyful she will feel once she and Gary have the opportunity to chat, just the two of them, and also, if everything turns out alright, to couple up eventually.

The young woman’s smile widens, “Mate, the reward is sky high compared to the risk.”

**At the Villa’s fire pit – Evening.**

“Hey, mate, can I have a word with you?” Gary asks, with an appeased voice tone.

After taking his time to reflect and cool down from the argument, the crane operator realized that he might have been a bit too harsh on Lucas. Now that he’s calmer, he understands that, even if the physiotherapist’s decision is rushed and probably based on the video they got sent this morning, he’s doing what he’s best for himself at the end of the day, something he has the absolute right to. Besides, Gary doesn’t want to be part of drama or hold a grudge against anyone in here, so he prefers to talk things through. This is what his nan would’ve advised him to do, anyway.

His sky-blue eyes meet Lucas’ sudden surprised expression. The Asian, who is sitting with Blake, Emily and Jakub in the bean bags, looks at Gary for a moment, pondering the offer. Then, he just nods, and follows him in silence to the fire pit. Both men can feel everyone’s looks on them, all the Islanders curious on how the chat is going to turn out. As they walk away, whispers can be heard all across the nearest places in the Villa.

With a small groan, Gary proceeds to sit on the fire pit’s bench. His face is forming a tight frown he’s trying very hard to disguise, as he is still not pleased by the idea of the older Islander switching. In the meantime, Lucas takes a seat next to him and they stay quiet for a couple of seconds before he breaks the tense silence.

“So, you’re not mad now?” Lucas asks, suspiciously. “What changed your mind?”

“I cooled down,” the blond simply replies, his features relaxing a bit. “You’re doing what’s best for yourself, and I don’t want to be an ass and blame you for it.”

“I’m glad that you get it now,” the other man says with a small nod.

Gary lets out a long sigh. “Look, I’m not chuffed either,” he confesses. Whereas he thinks about it, his light eyes seem to darken, “I am already aware that you know I still… feel things for Minni. I wanted to see if I could have a chance with her after she comes back, and that’s why I got so mad when I found out that you weren’t planning on staying loyal, cos she could get dumped before I can have a proper chat with her, and cos I don’t think she deserves to get kicked out either,” the crane operator explains. “So, I hope you understand where I’m coming from too.”

Seeing Gary, who is always fooling around and not taking things too seriously, being this open and heartfelt regarding his intentions with Minni, causes Lucas to feel sympathy for him. Although he won’t change his mind, he surely feels a bit more guilty now, as his stubbornness vanishes a bit. “I completely understand, mate. It has never been my intention to get Minni kicked out of the Villa. The truth is, I don’t want her to go by any means, but I also want to get to know Blake,” he tells him. “I didn’t start fancying her after seeing the video, if that’s what you’re all thinking. I’ve actually had my eye on her since the first day, and the video just pushed me to make the decision of switching.”

“It’s alright,” the blond man nods, knowing that there’s not much he can do about it. He guesses that the conversation is over after this, so he shifts to stand up and leave so he can take a breather, until he feels Lucas’ hand on his back.

There’s sincerity in his face, and even a bit of remorse. “Look, I recognize that I made a mistake by coupling up with Minni when I didn’t even fancy her in the first place— _that_ was a rushed decision. She never let me know that she was _exactly hurt_ by it afterwards. If any, she was really cold when I picked her and then gave me one of her classic scolds,” Lucas smiles slightly at the thought of the young woman’s character. “That night I did come clean on the fact that she wasn’t my type and she did the same, but I should’ve looked beyond her just straight up asking me just to be friends and asked her if she was really bothered or if I had interfered between her and someone else,” he clarifies. “I’ll make sure to have a chat with her once she comes back, is what I’m saying.”

After hearing this, some of Gary’s worries fade away, being glad that Lucas seems to be putting Minni’s feelings into consideration now. He feels a bit more relieved, which helps him a lot to de-stress, taking in consideration that he has a few more other things to worry about too.

“Sounds good, lad. I’m sure she will appreciate that,” he responds, patting Lucas’ back too.

Just when both are about to part ways amongst the still prying eyes of the rest of the Islanders, they hear Ibrahim yelling from the sun loungers, “I’ve got a text!”

<Boys, tonight is your final night living in two separate Villas. Tomorrow night, there will be a Recoupling in which you must decide whether to remain coupled up with your current partner who has been living in Casa Amor, or recouple with one of the new girls. #stickorswitch>

Nervousness, happiness and anticipation wash down on Gary after listening to his mate reading the text out loud. A smirk forms in the crane operator’s face nonetheless; even if he feels like he could get pied off, he still wants to see Minni so badly that he can barely disguise it. He guesses that he will have to play it cool as not to blow his cover, although half of this Villa knows that he can’t wait to get back together with a certain blue-eyed girl. For now, all he can think of is that he will finally see her tomorrow night.

**In the Villa’s kitchen – Nighttime.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol4N-jnpp7c)**

A sigh gets caught in Gary’s throat as he serves himself his third cuppa of the night. Since the party ended and everyone went to bed, he chose to sleep on the daybeds once more, with Bobby making him company this time and Noah taking the living room’s couch— at least he won’t be hearing loud snoring first thing in the morning, not that it bothered him too much anyway.

In this moment, the blond man doesn’t know how to feel. Should he feel worried that Minni might bring the lad she kissed, or the one she threw that riding comment at? Or should he just feel happy and keep a positive and optimistic mind about it? Is it even fair for him to feel this anxious giving the fact that they never got the chance to come to an agreement on sticking to one another? She said that she wanted to try things with him again the morning she left, after all, and he is holding onto that like if it was a thin, very thin thread.

There’s so many doubts in his mind right now, most of them preventing him from staying still on his bed and trying to fall asleep, with this being the reason why he’s been hanging out in the kitchen for way too long. The only thing he knows for sure now is that he really wants to see Minni, even if it’s just to see her coming back with another man. And, in that scenario, he has no idea what he will do besides trying not to look hurt.

Surprisingly, he’s not the only one who doesn’t know what to do with himself as he waits for tomorrow night to arrive. Bobby is also currently in the kitchen, taking out his last pastries from the oven.

“Bruv, thank goodness the original girls arrive tomorrow, so you can give that poor oven a good breather,” Gary smiles at his friend, trying to lighten the mood and hide the fact that both of them are feeling almost equal levels of nervousness. He proceeds to sit on a stool next to him, and watches the other boy skillfully arrange the food in a tray.

Bobby chuckles at his comment, feeling more at ease to have some conversation to get distracted. “At least my nervousness has kept all the Villa well fed,” he replies, lightheartedly. “And I’m guessing that these ones will still be kinda fresh for the girls when they arrive. Although I think it will probably cause Minni to make a joke about me cooking without her. She’s not a jealous friend but she won’t miss the opportunity to make fun of me either,” he adds, winking.

Having Bobby still call Minni a _friend_ confuses Gary once more, especially when he recalls him also saying it multiple times during this morning’s conversation after they saw the video. The doubt about her fancying more than Bobby wants to admit or realizes puzzles him, more than bothering him. It also makes him feel quite insecure, particularly when he remembers spotting them snogging in the daybeds a few days ago.

“Why do you keep saying that? I mean, the ‘just friends’ thing?” Gary stutters, confused. “She— but she could be into you. That’s why she chose you at the Recoupling... and you two kissed.”

The pastry chef raises his eyebrows at his question, quite surprised. “Mate, Minni and I don’t fancy each other. And we kissed _once_ , just to try. We both felt so awkward afterwards, actually,” he declares with a shrug.

For a second, Bobby is about to confess to Gary that Minni picked him at that Recoupling because the crane operator had something with Lottie at the time and the brunette didn’t want to get in the middle, but bites his tongue because he knows it’s not his place to tell, less now that Minni is not in the Villa. Up next, the Scottish suddenly thinks of Lucas’ comments basically causing Gary to admit in front of all the lads that he fancies Minni, something that took almost everyone by surprise. If Bobby knew for certain that the blue-eyed girl’s crush on Gary hasn’t vanished since that conversation they had in the roof terrace, the one about her feeling disappointed that he apparently preferred Lottie, he would for sure tell his mate that she likes him back— but they haven’t talked about him since, so he has no idea; maybe she moved on already, also taking in consideration that she could bring a guy from Casa Amor.

“I didn’t know you still fancied Minni, Gaz,” Bobby decides to add, curious.

Gary just nods as a response, shyly. Soon, he begins worrying that the Scottish could actually become his competition when trying to couple up with her after she comes back, if this ‘friendship’ thing is just him denying his crush on the physics student.

Despite his hesitant answer, Bobby’s smile widens. “Is that so?” He asks, leaning towards him in a secretive manner. “You want to crack on with her when she comes back? Is that why you went berserk on Lucas tonight?”

The blond is about to answer the question, but an abrupt doubt strikes his mind, “Wait, aren’t you mad that I technically like your bird?”

His inquiry makes Bobby roll his eyes and then let out a heavy, exasperated breath. “Bloody hell,” he says, frustrated. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t fancy her, Rennell? We. Are. Just. _Friends_.”

“Alright, then,” Gary responds with a reluctant voice tone and raising his palms at the other lad’s anger. Giving that Bobby has been so insistent about it, to the point to get pissed off by it, he begins to slowly convince himself that he might be telling the truth.

The crane operator keeps quiet after that, resorting on sipping on his warm cuppa, until his friend’s voice catches his attention again.

“What about Lottie? And Chelsea?” Bobby asks. Before Gary’s confession of tonight, almost everyone thought those were the girls he was aiming at.

“Listen, I…” the other man is quick to say, but then makes a pause. He scrunches his nose, whereas he ponders whether or not he should keep his cards close to his chest, like he’s been doing since this whole Love Island thing started. Despite this being his strategy for the longest time, it hasn’t worked very well, and it doesn’t fit his open and honest persona either, so he chooses to tell Bobby. Plus, he trusts him not to spread the word. “Since the girls left, I’ve felt this _void_. It didn’t take me too long to realize that it’s not an ‘original girls void’, neither a ‘Lottie void’ nor a ‘Chelsea void’, but…” he begins, attempting to do his best to explain how he feels, even if he can’t quite discern it himself.

The Scottish blinks, trying to understand, “A ‘Minni void’?”

Gary nods once more, just glad that he seems to understand.

When Bobby starts thinking about the concept, he realizes that he has also noticed a ‘Minni void’ since the girls left, along with the ‘original girls void’ that has caused him to become progressively more anxious for them to come back already.

Thoughtful, Gary sips a bit of warm liquid before continuing, “During these days, I realized that I don’t miss Lottie that much. Don’t get me wrong, she’s bants and all, but there’s no ‘Lottie void’— you know what I mean?”

“I get you, mate,” the pastry chef grins when seeing him so hard to explain himself. He completely comprehends where his mate is coming from, with this also being a sign that his feelings for Minni might be stronger than the ones he has for the other girls here. All of the sudden, his entertained expression fades, turning into a more serious and concerned one, as soon as he recalls that Lottie and Gary were coupled up and evidently had something going on, “You think you will have to pie her off when she gets here?”

In honest words, the girls being taken away has helped Gary to clear his mind on his situation in here. With him being less confused, he had time to notice that things have been going downhill for him and Lottie, mainly after Gary gave Minni a ten on the Snogathon and after that failed night at the Hideaway. Their situation didn’t look good before the latest Recoupling, and now it seems to be less promising after him realizing that he likes Minni more than anyone else.

Gary shakes his head at the Scottish’s question, “I don’t think so, lad. Lottie said that she wanted to see how it went with Rahim after he picked her, remember? I think with that she was the one who pied me off, if I’m honest.”

Bobby nods, and there’s just silence as both come to the realization that Ibrahim will surely leave her single because he’s definitely switching to Shannon.

Yet again, is the pastry chef the one who attempts to lighten up the mood. He beams and playfully elbows his blond friend, “So, any plans to win Minni over?”

The crane operator finds himself not knowing what to say. His dark eyebrows knit when he feels his mind going blank, following by him scrunching his nose.

“Don’t get shy on me now, Big Gazza. This is the best part,” Bobby laughs. He’s actually quite excited for both of his friends to finally find love in here, and until now he didn’t realize how happy he would be to see them together. “I reckon that you can turn her head back even if she brings a new lad,” he adds, trying to confidence boost Gary, because he knows his mate will need it if that worst-case scenario actually happens.

Making an effort to lift his own mood too, although he’s not feeling completely well, Gary smirks confidently. At least he knows that he has some useful assets that could turn most girls’ heads, and there’s nothing wrong in getting cocky about that. “Exactly, mate,” he answers, smug. “No bird can resist these guns,” he says, flexing his bulging biceps, which show off through the short sleeves of his shirt

Following that, both laugh, in need of some sort of comical relief after all that has happened today.

A sincere smile forms in Gary’s face, some of his nervousness dissipating. Even if his bulky biceps don’t help him win Minni back if she truly got her head turned, at least he can have a laugh with his mate about how proud of them he is. The least he can do is maintain his head up, keep himself optimistic and act confident in the meantime, until he believes it himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m sooo happy and excited of how this chapter turned out :3 i’ve been waiting for so long to get to this part of the story✧･ﾟ: * thank you all for following this fic, especially because this story means a lot to me, and also thank you for making it this far (we’re not even halfway lol) as always, thanks for commenting and see you soon in the next one, in which our beloved blue-eyed softies get FINALLY reunited :O take care★彡


	16. Day 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amongst lingering yet quiet giggles and under the pale lighting of the darkening night, their different-shaded blue eyes eventually meet and soon Gary is under the impression that the insides of his chest begin to spark. Here he is, yet again feeling this unique kindle surging from who knows where, whenever his eyes linger on Minni’s for more than a couple of seconds and she returns the look the same way. In this very instant, he knows that he has to say something, that he has to let her know how he feels. If not, he has the sensation that he’ll end up disintegrating— disintegrating from the inside, combusting because of this same spark that just can’t be contained any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, beautiful people✧･ﾟ: * it's been a while since i updated this baby omg. i've been extra busy and most of the scenes are from scratch, which is awesome because i'm really enjoying writing them from zero and not having to necessarily follow the game. i even gave the stick or switch ceremony a twist and wrote it more like it plays out in the show :3 also, this chapter is extra long and the upcoming chapters will probably be the same lenght too✿✼:*ﾟ i hope you like it!  
> ps: there's a surprise at the end of the chapter :o

**Day 17**

**In Casa Amor’s bedroom – Afternoon.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J_AehnbDRU)**

With a shaky sigh, Minni’s trembling hands store her beloved glittery makeup back into her bag, and then move to put her sunglasses into their respective cases— the truth is, she never actually unpacked, but there’s several small items she took out of her suitcase and, now that it’s time to go back to the main Villa, having to remember where she left those things and put them back in place has become an extra stressing factor for her.

Since she took the decision to come back single, she knows perfectly that she could also end up completely single tonight if one of the new girls has caught Lucas’ eye. Perhaps even dumped, the brunette worries, giving the fact that she has seen a few episodes of the previous seasons of the show and vaguely remembers seeing some people getting dumped in the spot if they happen to come back from Casa Amor and encounter their former partner with someone else. Still, this is not the main reason that has the ever-so-calm blue-eyed girl on her nerves.

Last night, as she lay sleepless on her bed next to a dozed off Carl, all she could think about was the possibility of Gary suddenly changing his mind. The crane operator did send her a note to reassure her, but perhaps some girl managed to turn his head in the three days that the physics student has been away. So, although Minni knows he’s a loyal man and that he would never lead her on like that on purpose, anything could happen in Love Island. For now, all she is certain of is that there’s no way she can retract her decision of coming back single to the main Villa just to try things with him again; she’s never been so sure of what she wants in this place as she is now.

Because the young woman’s anxiousness causes her movements to be less gracious and uncharacteristically clumsy, she is practically battling against her own fingers to get them to move properly when trying to fit a pair of sunglasses into a plastic case. This is so unlike her, since something that characterizes her is her ability to keep her cool under pressure. Maybe, she realizes, all the build-up of emotions from the last three days summed to the possibility of suddenly losing Gary are beginning to really get to her head. In addition to this, she puts extra pressure on herself because she doesn’t want to explode out of the blue like she always does when she hits a breaking point, but, at the same time, she can’t bring herself to stop for a second and _breathe_ either, this initiating a self-defence system and emotional cycle she can’t get rid of, taking her to a point when she’s trying really hard to suppress and ignore whatever bad sensation she’s feeling.

“Slow down, Minnow,” the blue-eyed girl hears a deep and gratuitously loud voice saying behind her.

It’s the volume of Graham’s voice that makes Minni’s cool exterior pop like a bubble, revealing how shifty she truly feels on the inside. A sharp gasp escapes the young woman’s throat as she jumps slightly, dropping the sunglasses case. The high-pitched sound that the plastic makes when hitting the floor startles her again, causing her to turn her hands into fists and shut her eyes tightly for a moment, in an attempt to further contain her emotions. Her heart thumps fast and hard against her chest, out of pure boiling nervousness.

“Is everything alright?” the red-haired man asks, his expression changing from his usual confident self into mild worrisome.

For a moment, Minni is unable to articulate proper words. She feels so overwhelmed now that all she can do is put on her usual happy façade and nod, purposefully avoiding Graham’s dark eyes. “I-I’m fine, it’s just… I just need…” she stutters, not even managing to crouch properly to retrieve what she dropped.

“Hey,” Graham says, putting his big hand on her back. He can’t quite discern what could have a bird as chill as Minerva this tense, but he has a hunch, “Are you worried about your friend? The Scottish, pastry lad?”

After hearing his question, Minni’s big cobalt eyes go wide for a second. Because she’s been so caught into her own problems, it never crossed her mind that Marisol is determined to take Graham into the main Villa, which will cause Bobby to be single tonight if he hasn’t coupled up with one of the new girls, something Minni can’t imagine him doing. Now, more than being preoccupied for herself, the physics student feels already upset for her best friend. At least, this helps her to stop thinking about her individual worries.

Before she can say anything, Graham gives her a gentle pat. Then, he kneels down to grab her sunglasses case. “Nobody’s getting dumped tonight,” he reassures, confidently.

“Why are you so sure?” Minni asks. She blinks a couple of times, taken aback by how convinced the muscular fisherman sounds.

He simply shrugs while standing up. “I’m not, but I figured that me saying it out loud could help you,” he responds with a grin. Even if he can’t say much about what he’s seen on the outside, he wants Minni to feel better; Graham is sure that she and Bobby are ones of the public’s favourites, so he has the feeling that they won’t get dumped for something that’s mainly out of their control and totally not their fault.

Still looking overly self-assured, the red-haired man hands Minni the case, which the freckled girl takes with less clumsy hands now that she’s a bit more at ease. In this moment, after having him transmit his sense of security somehow, she feels that she can now deliver her movements less frantically and actually put her sunglasses into the case like she’s supposed to; she surely needed someone to snap her out of it.

A soft sigh escapes Minni’s plumped lips while her shoulders slightly slump down, as she relaxes. “Thanks,” she smiles genuinely at him. Following that, she looks down at her feet, quite ashamed for having him seen her in her previous nervous state. She reckons that the only people who have seen her like that have been Bobby, Gary and, most recently, Priya, since Minni doesn’t usually let people know when she’s feeling quite down, less when she’s suppressing her bad emotions like she was doing a few minutes ago.

Despite her showing evident shyness, Graham lets out a loud chuckle and proceeds to pat her back again, with less delicacy as before, causing the physics student to blink in surprise.

“Don’t mention it,” the tall lad answers. Without another word, he lets himself fall on the mattress of the bed and sits down as he looks at her whereas she finishes packing her things.

The Casa Amor’s communal bedroom is left quiet, with the two Islanders being completely alone. Most of the girls are still upstairs in the dressing room tidying whatever mess each of them has managed to make with their unpacked belongings and the boys are all patiently hanging out by the pool; the splashes from outside the room and the squealed conversations coming from upstairs are barely audible.

Although they’ve been living in the same Villa for days, it’s been a while since Graham and Minni have had the chance to have a proper one-on-one chat, especially considering that the blue-eyed girl has spent most of her time with Carl, if she’s not surrounded by the rest of the boys all at once.

“I was almost sure that you were going to take good boy Carl with you to the main Villa,” the red-haired man comments after a moment, breaking the silence.

Still feeling quite guilty about that, Minni’s lips form a thin line as she swallows what’s left of her remorse. “It’s just… there’s someone else,” she murmurs, trying to busy herself with folding the last towels that are left on top of her bed.

“Same old bloke, huh?” Graham smirks then, crossing his bulky and heavily tattooed arms in front of his chest.

Even if it’s usual of him to be this direct, the fisherman wouldn’t have been so blunt with his reply if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s clearly aware of the situation Minni and Gary have going on. Despite not having paid much attention when he watched the show, it was so evident for him and for almost everyone who saw them in the telly that those two are so attracted to each other that they can’t simply let go, particularly when everything they do is talk about one another. To this day, it’s still baffling to the Devonian how they managed to keep their feelings almost completely under wraps for most of the Islanders _and_ to one another, especially when they all live together twenty-four-seven, although he guesses that it’s most likely because the blue-eyed pair share similar personalities, that lead them to avoid confrontation and play it cool. They tricked themselves and others into thinking that the other doesn’t want the same as them, by not giving much away and keeping their cards close to their chests, something that could’ve been easily cleared up by having an open chat.

In honest words, the connection that Minni and Carl made as soon as they met deceived Graham. There was something that instantly clicked between the two, and it was so noticeable that the dark-haired man was Minni’s favourite out of all the Casa Amor lads regardless of having half of them just trying and trying to get her to fancy them back. For a couple of days, the sailor thought that she had gotten her head finally turned, but even if what they had could’ve been labelled as somewhat special, it undoubtedly wasn’t enough to get her to forget about Gary.

Right after hearing his question, the freckled girl stops folding her towels, her expression showing obvious surprise, “Wha— how do you know?”

Finding it frankly funny that she’s actually kind of clueless about her situation, the fisherman chooses to let out a brief and scornful laugh instead; perhaps being in Love Island, isolated from the outside world, truly changes one’s perspective and makes one forget that people on the outside practically see everything that happens in the Villa, or at least everything that could be considered important.

Perplexed, Minni watches Graham’s bearded cheeks stretching in a mocking grin as he cackles for a few seconds. In that instant, she figures out the answer to her own question, since he already admitted to her that he watched the show before entering. Now, the thought that almost _everyone knows_ at this point dawns on her— Carl knew too. A frustrated breath escapes the blue-eyed student’s pink lips, then.

The red-haired man’s eyes follow her attentively with an entertained expression, waiting for her response, but all Minni does is fake an exasperated scowl and return to packing her stuff, her reaction plus the fact that everyone knows she fancies Gary but the crane operator himself make Graham laugh a bit more.

**In the Villa’s bedroom – Evening.** [**♪**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgIFXoLiqsQ)

“Bloody hell, where did I leave that damn thing?” Gary murmurs to himself, as his eyes scan the communal bedroom.

For every minute the Stick and Switch ceremony gets closer, the crane operator feels more and more nervous, to the point in which he doesn’t know what to do with himself. It’s been an hour since he began searching for his lost shoe all around the Villa; not that he’s too picky with his outfits, less with footwear, but he got concerned for not being able to remember where he’s last seen it and became stubborn enough to keep looking for it until he has it back in his hands. Besides, it’s his way to distract himself and to have something to do in the meantime the ceremony starts, even if not finding his shoe _anywhere_ is making him progressively grumpier.

With a frown on his face and his thick dark eyebrows creasing together, Gary proceeds to look beneath everyone’s beds. It’s surprisingly tidy, given that there’s nothing but pyjamas, stray water bottles, some towels and empty condom wrappers under most beds— and no shoes asides from Ibrahim’s flip flops.

The muscular blond moves from one bed to another while crankily scolding his annoyance and grumbling quietly. Underneath what’s supposed to be Bobby’s bed, he just finds packs of crisps, gummies and some other snacks that he probably saves to eat later in secret. Without thinking much of it, he moves to the last one, which is Noah’s.

After letting out a defeated sigh, Gary ducks and lifts the duvet so he can see properly. “If this is another bloody prank I swear to—” he mutters through his teeth whereas he looks below, but interrupts himself when something that resembles a book catches his attention straight away, especially by the fact that the shiny cover is way too familiar and surely doesn’t belong to Noah.

Curious, the crane operator stretches one arm to reach it and soon he has it in his hand. While standing up, he can’t take his light blue eyes out of it, a pleased smirk stretching his lips. Rapidly, he sits on the mattress and adjusts his optical frames so he can see better; he is buzzing to know that he was the one to have finally found that renowned astrophysics notebook that Minni lost days ago, and can already picture a huge happy beam adorning her delicate features when she gets it back.

A silver cover glitters in front of Gary’s eyes, with white stars and moons scattered all over it and a clip preventing the notebook from opening on its own. Once he undoes the clip, his thick digits flick through the pages, interested in what's inside.

The first thing that meets his sight are endless pages full of complex formulas and math exercises, physics laws, characteristics of celestial bodies and numerous classifications of them. At the beginning, he guesses that everything is too complicated for him to understand, until he realizes that it’s because he can’t quite actually read Minni’s handwriting; it’s so messy, messier than he ever expected. This odd and unanticipated trait of hers makes him chuckle to himself, inevitably squinting as he genuinely tries to decipher the words. _The vacuum… around allows for an infinite amount of modes for… quasi? Quasi particles? Is that a real thing? Well, at least I could actually read that phrase_ , he thinks to himself, comically.

Gary takes his time to glide through the pages, his finger pads tracing paths over the equations and quotes that are written with different coloured pens: purple, blue, light blue and pink. Important words are scribbled bigger than the others and with glitter pens, standing out from the rest of the page, and the titles are even bigger and coloured with pastel highlighters. She has also glued some pictures and graphs, probably being too busy or lazy to draw them herself. And, even if the handwriting is rather chaotic, Minni’s organization of the information is so _fun_ that Gary feels like he could actually learn just by taking a look at this, if he knew the basics of course.

All the colour choices, the drawings and doodles, the abbreviations, disposition and numbers, the _soul_ that this notebook has is so utterly Minni that the crane operator feels there’s no other thing that could represent her the most. His heart swells and he smiles, as he attempts to memorize every detail he can— unavoidably he ends up noticing more and more small things he finds adorable and that expel the blue-eyed girl’s personality. Now, the Chathamite wishes he would’ve found it sooner, so he could’ve spent the time she’s been away just skimming through the pages and feeling this exact same warmth inside his chest. The buzzing feeling of having just found such an unexpected treasure brings him comfort, his masculine features relaxing and his gaze lighting up.

With his irritation gone, vanishing in the cool evening’s air, Gary stands up and walks towards his personal drawer, planning on storing Minni’s notebook in there until he can return it to her, so it doesn’t get lost again. Just when he’s opening his drawer, his animated light blue orbs meet his missing shoe, right on top of his swimwear. The blond’s annoyance towards himself comes back as he blinks a couple of times, not remembering the reason why he put a single shoe in there. Still, he’s not surprised, considering that he’s been kind of a mess these past few days.

After Gary frustratedly sighs and shakes his head, he carefully stores Minni’s treasured astrophysics notebook, not without giving it one last gentle and loving touch before closing the drawer again and making his way towards the Villa’s fire pit.

**Stick or Switch – Evening.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM_kejkWeHU)**

“Buckle up, lads. This will get tense real soon,” Bobby jokes, uselessly trying to disperse the already stressed out atmosphere that has formed around the fire pit’s faint flames.

“Tell me about it,” Gary breathes out, his crystal blue eyes fixed on the warm orange, yellow and reddish colours of the fire that dances within this evening’s breeze. The light that it emits reflects on his optical glasses, as all he can do is just stay still, sitting on the bench with his forearms placed on top of his thighs.

Once the new girls are all forming a line in front of them, it seems like everything stays just as still as him for a moment, until the first phone chimes in. Surprised that it’s actually his phone to be the first to receive a text, Bobby stands up and lets the notification sound float for a few seconds. After that, he processes what he is meant to do and reads the message out loud.

<Boys, it’s time to choose. In turns, please say whether you would like to stick with the person you’re coupled up with, or switch to one of the girls in front of you. We have asked your partners at Casa Amor to do the same. If you both stick, you will remain as a couple. If you both switch, you will stay in the Vila in your new couples. If one of you switches and the other sticks, the person who stuck will be left single. Bobby, you’re up first.>

Nobody is truly shocked when the pastry chef decides not to switch, accompanied with a brief speech of how, despite not being in a romantic relationship with Marisol, he owes her to remain loyal just because of the friendship they share. After he briefly delivers his words, the Villa grows silent once more, everyone’s sight glued to the hallway that leads to the bedroom area, where Marisol is supposed to appear from.

With Bobby still standing in front of the fire pit’s bench, a couple of seconds pass. Then, the Islanders hear faded footsteps coming from the bedroom area’s entrance. They don’t even have to see Marisol to know that she didn’t come back alone; heavy boots against the deck can be heard, accompanied with the familiar sound of the Spanish girl’s classy heels.

Even if Bobby tries to maintain a smile, it’s very noticeable that he’s disappointed. Although him and Marisol were never romantic, he hoped she’d stay loyal so he didn’t have to be at risk of getting dumped, completely looking past the fact that she’s not known for caring about what happens to the others in the Villa, her policy being sticking to doing what’s best for her only.

Once the new couple gets close to the fire pit, Graham walks over to Bobby and shakes his hand. “I’m Graham. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” the red-haired man says, being friendly. “How are you doing, matey?”

The Scottish takes a moment to breathe before turning to Marisol. His smile weakens, and he grits his teeth to force it back into place, “I’m doing good! You girls are coming back, we’re meeting new people… I’m so happy you found someone! He looks like a total catch.”

Right after Marisol nods and smiles at him, the freckled man’s phone beeps, so he nervously reads the text out loud.

<Bobby, now that Marisol has switched, you’re officially single. Please take a seat.>

Everyone exchanges relieved looks because, apparently, the people who end up single tonight are not getting sent home, at least not straight away. The pastry chef lets out a short breath and sits back into his place at the fire pit’s bench. Just when Gary is giving his mate a reassuring pat on the back, Marisol and Graham decide to take a seat next to him. For a second, the blond man looks at Graham up and down.

“Do you think he looks a bit like…” the crane operator asks, not finishing the question properly.

“You?” Ibrahim casually points out.

“What?” Gary says, briefly opening his eyes wide and then scrunching his nose. “He doesn’t look like me, does he?”

The fact that the similarity is not completely farfetched causes Marisol to blush, “Now you mention it…”

Unexpectedly, Gary’s phone vibrates in his pocket and emits a notification sound, not giving him time to think about what she’s just said. Having an idea of what this means, he stands up and reads it for everyone to hear.

<Gary, it’s your turn. Please say whether you would like to remain coupled up with Chelsea or recouple with one of the new girls.>

After clearing his throat and straightening his posture, the blond man takes a look at the new girls in front of him. He’s confident in what he wants and is pretty happy with his decision. “Girls, we all had a great time with you and, although I would’ve liked everyone to stay so we all could’ve been an even bigger family, this is how the game is,” Gary begins. It takes a few seconds for him to find the right words, his expression turning more thoughtful. “I’m gonna be honest here. There’s this girl that I really like, and I’m proper kicking myself that her being taken away made me realize how much I need her in my life,” he confesses with a shy smile. “And even though she may have forgotten about me, I’m willing to risk it and give it another shot.” Next, the Chathamite makes a pause, “So… I’m deciding to stick.”

The Islanders clap briefly, making Gary look back at them with a more relaxed smirk. Noah returns the look, proud of his mate’s decision, and there’s a pleased beam on Bobby’s face as well. Still standing in line, the new girls also smile at the blond man, understanding. When the applause dies down, Gary looks down at his feet and lets out the air that has been caught in his throat, hoping to relax.

All of them wait for a moment, until they see Chelsea’s silhouette, accompanied with another taller one. Gary’s face falls instantly; even if he wasn’t sure whether his partner would switch or not, he was hoping she didn’t, since he always trusts people. Still, the crane operator reckons that she didn’t owe him anything, particularly because they were coupled up for less than a day.

Gary looks at Chelsea, and then at the empty space beside his place in the fire pit’s bench. “Right then,” he simply comments.

Just like it happened when Marisol and Graham arrived, a notification rings as soon as Gary welcomes Chelsea and gets introduced to her new partner, Elijah.

<Gary, now that Chelsea has switched, you’re officially single. Please take a seat.>

With that, the blond goes back to where he was sitting. Everyone stays silent then, exchanging concerned looks and worriedly thinking that having Marisol and Chelsea coming back with a new lad is not a good record so far.

The ceremony continues, with Ibrahim receiving his text and being determined on choosing Shannon as his new partner. Lottie arrives alone quickly after, just to encounter her partner having recoupled and leaving her single. While the makeup artist shows her evident disappointment towards him, she notices that Gary has been left single too— although he doesn’t quite meet her eyes, Lottie immediately thinks that it’s because he wants to come back to her, rather than because he genuinely wanted to remain coupled up with Chelsea. The Chathamite doesn’t even notice the Aussie giving him flirty eyes already, in hopes to get something in return that indicates to her that he’s willing to come back to her even if what they had wasn’t going well at all.

Shortly after receiving the same text as Bobby and Gary, Lottie sits down and the silence resumes until Noah’s phone rings with another message. The librarian has finally shaved the beard he didn’t bother to maintain while the original girls were away, looking more collected even though he’s as confused on where his head is at as he was a few days ago. Needless to say, he decides to continue coupled up with Priya, who arrives single.

“You’ve done alright, then?” Gary asks his tall friend once him and Priya sit down.

Noah looks around, nervously. “Mate, let’s not say too much until they’re all here,” he declares. He feels weird, quite shifty when thinking about Hope’s arrival; he doesn’t know why he is feeling this way, like if his gut almost didn’t want her to come back.

Before they can continue with their brief chat, Jakub is already standing up and giving his speech. Everyone is sure that he will switch to Siobhan, giving that they have been flirting non-stop and they also have been doing bits at night. “These last three days have been amazing, ladies. You are all ding,” the bodybuilder says. His use of the invented slang makes Bobby bite his lip in an attempt not to laugh. Next, the Scottish exchanges a look with Rahim, who is also entertained by Jakub’s cluelessness. “But I’m technically coupled up with a fierce and hot bird already, so… I choose to stick,” the pale man finishes.

Struck by the unexpected announcement, the Islanders freeze and the whole Villa becomes ominously quiet. The boys’ mouths hang open, nobody knowing what to do or to say. It doesn’t take much time before Siobhan realizes what Jakub’s decision means.

“You’ve made me look like an absolute mug!” the new girl’s scream pierces the air, her dark eyes glaring at Jakub.

Despite everything, the bodybuilder looks extremely calm and confident, “It is what it is, babe.”

This makes the people around the fire pit wince. The original girls seem puzzled and have no idea what’s going on, whereas the new girls are all feeling bad for Siobhan, who is mainly boiling in anger with the right reason. Furious at having been lead on, the woman takes off to the lawn, yelling and kicking everything that’s on her way. It’s not until she crosses the kitchen that she grabs one of the wooden spoons that are on display inside a container on top of the counter and proceeds to aim it at none other than Jakub. She throws it with full force, but she’s so far away that it ends up landing in the pool.

“The wooden spoon—!” Bobby gasps. Following that, he has no other option but to watch with frustration as one of the best wooden spoons progressively sinks until it gets out of sight.

While still shouting and cursing at Jakub, Siobhan storms off, now going around the bedroom area and towards the Villa’s entrance. The quietness resumes then, with the Islanders feeling tense and still being confused. The girls are exchanging quick whispers, asking for explanations, when Hope arrives. The ambiance turns more awkward when Jakub gets flirty with her like if nothing had happened. Still, the braided girl meets Noah’s eyes and they exchange brief words before everyone goes silent again as they wait for the last text to arrive.

It takes longer than the rest of the messages, probably just to build tension, but eventually Lucas receives his text and, as expected, chooses to recouple with Blake. Not actually expecting it, the original girls look at one another with concern, not knowing how Minni will feel about that— most of them still think she has a thing with Bobby and that she will most likely be mad at Lucas for having stolen her from him just to decide to couple up with someone else right after.

Just as Blake and Lucas join hands and stand in front of the fire pit waiting for Minni’s arrival, Gary receives a comforting pat from Bobby, who is sitting beside him. Even if the crane operator smiles at him in return, he looks quite nervous. His baby blue eyes soon get fixed in the deck below him, staring blankly.

Gary doesn’t know if minutes or mere seconds pass before footsteps can be heard. He’s so anxious now that he can’t discern if they’re from two people or if it’s just Minni’s incredibly high platforms echoing as they hit the floor. His sight goes up and he blinks a few times, his heart pounding inside his chest.

Graciously, Minni walks out onto the lawn and stops; she’s by herself.

The blond man perks up instantly and his eyes light up. He indistinctly sits straighter and a beam spreads across his face. With both being single, he thinks that maybe a miracle could happen and they are allowed to couple up— maybe the odds are finally in their favour.

As she approaches, Minni’s cobalt blue eyes instinctively search for Gary even before bothering looking at Lucas. When she sees him single, the young woman’s stomach flutters and she has the urge to run and hug him tightly.

“Hey. It’s so good to see you again!” Lucas greets her when she’s close enough, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Just then, Minni sees that he has coupled up with one of the new girls. The freckled girl stays quiet, trying not to show how bummed out that makes her feel. Indeed, they agreed on staying in a friend-couple which meant that they could get to know other people freely, but now she has the sudden impression that she’s easily replaceable. He not only chose her in the last Recoupling because she was the only one who was mildly appealing to him but he also was quick to find someone attractive enough to be willing to leave Minni at risk of going home.

Noticing the Islander’s sights on her, the blue-eyed girl looks for comfort in the familiar faces in front of her. First, she meets Bobby’s eyes, knowing that he is most likely single and confirming it by seeing him alone, and then her eyes land on Gary, who is sitting next to him. Surprisingly, it’s like the worry about seeing Lucas with another girl washes out in an instant as soon as Minni receives a warm and kind smile from the crane operator. The brunette smiles softly at him too, hoping that he is somehow aware that she came back single to give their relationship another chance; the truth is, before stepping out of the bedroom area, she saved Gary’s note inside her pocket to have something to hold onto in case things happened to go wrong.

Abruptly, the pair becomes conscious of the eyes on them, some Islanders watching their brief more-than-friendly exchange. Trying to play it cool, Gary throws a quick wink at Minni and she gives him a knowing glance before returning her attention to Lucas.

“I’m happy for you,” the young woman tells her former partner, being genuine despite feeling a bit hurt by his decision.

“You are?” Lucas asks, incredulous. He was expecting Minni to show more sadness or even resentment, which would be fair in his eyes.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” the physics student replies. She’s good at hiding when she’s discontent, and this tense moment won’t be an exception. “I’m not going to be angry if you think you’ve found the one,” she shrugs, sincerely.

“Wow. I don’t really know what to say about that,” the Asian man grins, relieved. “This is Blake, by the way.”

After that, Blake steps forward and air kisses Minni on both cheeks. “I’m sorry we’re meeting like this. I’d never choose to go behind someone else’s back,” she tells her. For some reason, her voice tone doesn’t sound completely honest, but Minni gives her the benefit of the doubt, “In any other situation I would have come and talked to you first, but I couldn’t. I’m sure you understand.”

“Babe, that sounds so like something Minni would say,” Chelsea interrupts. She stands back and eyes Blake up and down before looking at Minni as well, “She stands kinda the same way as you too, babe. Don’t you think, Marisol?”

“It’s true,” the Spanish girl agrees. “She even has the same hair colour and freckles. Oh, and the shimmery outfit,” she adds.

Quietly sitting at the fire pit, the other girls shake their heads, but Chelsea doesn’t take the hint. Whereas she is bound to keep going, Lottie’s expert makeup artist eye notices that Blake’s freckles are actually faux, which has her thinking for a moment.

“Isn’t that funny? What a coincidence that Lucas would couple up with someone just like you while you were gone,” Chelsea goes on, still speaking to Minni.

“I’m not sure if we’re _that_ similar, Chels,” the blue-eyed girl responds, trying to let go of the uncomfortable subject.

“Yeah, I don’t see it either,” Blake says. Weirdly enough, she has a passive aggressive tint in her voice and a confident smile, “Don’t compare me to Minni. I’m not one of these girls who has to try all the time just to look good. That isn’t Lucas’s type either.”

In the meantime, Minni just stares at her, her usual chill and peaceful expression changing slowly. Despite the new girl’s harsh words, the physics student is not actually hurt. She’s just puzzled for a moment, not knowing where all the bitterness came from.

Ignoring the fact that almost everyone is either glaring at her or watching with confusion, Blake seems to pretend that Minni is not listening to her and continues talking, “I know Minni has been trying so hard this whole time, and all I did was be myself.”

Chelsea gasps, and then there’s silence. All looks return to Minni once more, being aware that all of the young woman’s buttons have been pushed.

“I’m glad you’re being yourself, babes,” Minni is quick to start speaking. “You really showed your true colours in your desperate attempt to fetch compliments.” After that, she smiles ironically and bats her long eyelashes, “With that attitude I’m sure you’ll bring such good vibes and fellowship to the Villa now that you’re here.”

With the drama having escalated, some Islanders open their mouths in surprise and other grimace and turn to Blake with pitiful eyes; most of them are familiar with Minni’s character and know that she doesn’t hold back after she’s reached a breaking point. For a moment, the only sound that interrupts the stillness for a split second is Bobby trying to stiff a laugh. It seems like Blake is about to respond for a moment, but she eventually clamps her mouth shut, not really knowing what to say. Meanwhile, Lucas stays awkwardly frozen in his place.

Luckily for them, a notification sound is emitted by Minni’s phone.

<Minerva, now that Lucas has switched, you’re officially single.>

After that, a couple of seconds pass before one of the new girls’, the ones who were left out single, phone chimes in too. One of them, who sports bright green hair, reads it out loud with a saddened voice.

<Emily, Ramona, Cassie and Siobhan, unfortunately your journey on Love Island is over. You can now say your goodbyes and then leave the Villa immediately.>

Realizing that this pretty much announces the ending of the Stick or Switch ceremony, everyone stands up and scatters. Lost for a moment, Minni looks around and notices that most of the Islanders have already started to spread out around the Villa, something that relieves her because it means that, first, none of the single people will get sent home just yet and, second, it put a finishing point to a potential argument with Blake.

The Cantabrigian is quick to spot Gary, who is saying his goodbyes to the new girls alongside most of the boys who got to meet them while the original girls were away. Minni stays in her place and raises an eyebrow— she remembers that the text they just received mentioned four girls, and there’s only three of them. Meanwhile she’s puzzledly staring at them and asking herself if her memory is failing, a pair of slender arms wrap around her in a bear hug.

“It’s you!” Bobby exclaims enthusiastically whereas he lifts her from the ground. “You stuck!”

His enthusiasm makes Minni chuckle. “I knew you’d stick too,” she responds when he puts her down.

“You know me. I couldn’t be any stickier if you rolled me in jam,” the pastry chef replies. In an instant, his face shows disappointment, but he jokes about it anyway, “And I guess I just underestimated Marisol. I’ll never make that mistake again!”

Before they can continue talking, they see Gary approaching with a beam. Bobby knows how much he’s been waiting to chat with Minni and, although the Scottish wants to hang out with her too, he lets the crane operator have her first. Bobby is ready to go away when the two new boys, Graham and Elijah, also decide to join the group, possibly cutting short the chance of Gary and Minni being alone.

Noticing their arrival, Gary gestures to Graham and Elijah. “Seems like we’ve got some new boys for the squad,” he comments, being his friendly self as always.

“I’ve been calling it a crew, not a squad,” Graham corrects with a grin, his arms crossed in front of his chest confidently.

“Hello, sailor!” the blond greets him anyway, cheekily.

Gary’s light-hearted humour causes Minni to giggle. She doesn’t even notice that she’s gazing at him in a loving way, but Graham surely does. The fisherman puffs out his chest at first, willing to reply to Gary in a snarky way, but decides to leave it in order to help Minni out. The two new boys exchange a few greeting words before Graham drags Elijah out of there, being followed by Bobby, who tries very hard to not give anything away.

All of the sudden, Gary and Minni find themselves alone, standing near the fire pit. Everything happened so fast that none of them know how to proceed. Still, their sights lock in what seems like a magnetizing stare.

“Good to see you,” the muscular man mutters, softly.

“It’s good to see you, too,” the brunette girl says back, looking at him under her eyelashes. In response, Gary just smirks, in a bad attempt to hide that he’s actually buzzing and attempting to keep his cool. Because of his silence, Minni doesn’t know if she should interpret it as him not being too excited about seeing her. “You, um… you wanna chat?” she whispers then.

“Sure,” the blond answers.

Right after glancing around the lawn to make sure nobody has intentions of joining them to talk, Minni takes Gary’s arm and gently leads him towards the edge of the pool.

**At the lawn – Night-time.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSAA_KmuC5E)**

The infinity pool’s water glistens under the pale moonlight, as Minni and Gary sit on the edge in a relaxed silence. Being her usual carefree self, the girl takes out her big platform shoes and dips her legs into the water, letting them dangle delicately. With a small smirk, Gary follows, and both end up sitting side by side, with their shoulders and arms barely grazing each other.

Despite the fact that everyone seems to be catching up and having rather loud reencounter conversations, this particular spot in the Villa seems to be a bit quieter. Even the air feels different in comparison to the fire pit area, Minni reckons. Perhaps even the stars look brighter, she notices as she briefly looks upwards and towards the black yet brightly twinkling sky.

“I’m glad to see you,” the crane operator tells her.

Although his deep voice is rather gentle, it’s enough to snap the Cantabrigian out of her thoughts and pull her to pay attention to him. Immediately, she meets his candid light blue eyes resting on her; he’s not rushing anything, despite having been apart from each other for more than three days.

As she looks back at him, Gary takes special notice in the way the usual cobalt colour of her irises always acquires a greyish undertone with dim light. He can’t help gazing at her quite dumbfounded whereas he waits for her to respond. In this moment, it’s evident that there’s a certain subject they have to discuss, but that he also prefers to keep things light and to let the conversation flow first.

“I’m glad to see you, too,” the brunette answers, concealing an excited smile. She feels butterflies in her stomach instantly, but tries not to demonstrate it too much, since now it’s kind of hard for her to read Gary’s signals. Right away, she starts trying to guess if he’s not looking too eager because he just wants things to come naturally or if it’s because he genuinely isn’t _that_ enthusiastic to see her again.

After that, the blond man beams at her, not knowing what else to say. This doesn’t bother him, though. He simply enjoys her company way too much to worry about having more stuff to talk about or to keep the silence apart. With her, he’s never felt the need to fill the air with small talk, particularly because Minni’s kind-hearted persona always finds a way to keep the conversation going.

“So, I guess this is your first time single in here,” she points out, trying to lighten the mood, particularly because Blake’s intervention caused an unusual nervousness in her, which hasn’t gone away just yet. Following her phrase, Minni tenderly pushes Gary’s bulky arm, making him chuckle with surprise, “How does it feel, huh?”

The crane operator smirks at her words and briefly scans her face. With his smile widening, he places that same muscular arm around her shoulders. “I don’t know. I might need some guidance. Perhaps I need to call an expert,” he banters, pretending to be deep in thought. Then, he acts like he’s just noticed her presence beside him, “Oh, but here you are.”

While laughing at his own joke, he uses his arm to carefully restrain the freckled girl as he reaches out to ruffle her brown, soft hair. If there’s a thing that he can easily pinpoint about his friendship with Minni is that, no matter what’s going on around them, they can always have nice and genuine banter; she doesn’t even get mad when he messes up her hair, and, in his opinion, she looks even more beautiful afterwards.

“Har har,” Minni rolls her eyes, playfully. Despite her never-ending string of bad luck, she ends up cackling alongside Gary anyway. This man causes this effect on her sometimes, making her worries dissipate just by being his cheery, good-humoured self. It’s true that she’s been single three times already and they’re not even halfway through the show, something that must be a record in Love Island’s history.

Before the physics student can articulate a proper cheeky comeback or even meet Gary’s eyes, he pokes repeatedly at her belly to amplify her chuckles. Minni giggles animatedly for a while, until he lets go of her, the remaining tension of the Stick and Switch ceremony finally disappearing from her muscles and, most importantly, from her mind. She didn’t realize until now how much she missed Gary’s easy-going nature and sense of humour, and can’t help but think that maybe his company is all the support she needs to get through anxious moments like these.

Amongst lingering yet quiet giggles and under the pale lighting of the darkening night, their different-shaded blue eyes eventually meet and soon Gary is under the impression that the insides of his chest begin to spark. Here he is, yet again feeling this unique kindle surging from who knows where, whenever his eyes linger on Minni’s for more than a couple of seconds and she returns the look the same way. In this very instant, he knows that he has to say _something_ , that he has to let her know how he feels. If not, he has the sensation that he’ll end up disintegrating— disintegrating from the inside, combusting because of this same spark that just can’t be contained any longer.

After he has gathered enough courage to bring the topic to surface, the crane operator drags out a sigh, “I’m glad we get a chance to talk properly,” he begins, tenderly. “It’s been a while since we saw each other, and I guess I just wanted to know where your head is at. I know it’s only been a few days, but it feels like everything has changed around here.”

“Everything?” the freckled girl asks, puzzled.

“Well… I guess Jakub is still wearing those stupid white trousers,” Gary simply replies, not knowing how to clarify what he meant to say. The bulky man is sure that he’s about to get caught up between his words like he always does when he gets nervous, but he also tells himself that he can’t miss this chance.

Luckily, his comment causes Minni’s vocals to produce a giggle, which makes him feel lighter.

“That’s not what I meant, though…” the Chatham man is quick to continue. Despite attempting to make the effort to word his thoughts properly, it’s all coming off a bit messy because, even if he has Minni right beside him, he quickly starts drowning in the worry of losing her again somehow; or worse, to lose her again to someone else. “I guess I just meant that with so many people in the Villa now, who knows what’s going to happen next?”

His sudden change of expression preoccupies the blue-eyed girl, particularly because he avoids meeting her eyes when pronouncing that last sentence. “Are you alright?” she asks.

After letting out a bit of his contained breath, Gary nods. “Yeah, it’s just… I’ve been a bit of a mess these past few days, to be honest. I thought about you a lot. I was worried you’d forget all about me,” he confesses, now linking his sight with hers. For a moment, the thought of asking her about what he saw in the video yesterday crosses his mind, but he oddly finds himself not caring too much about it, or at least not for now. If that lad is not here, there must be a reason why, the crane operator tells himself. Trying to get back on track on what he was saying and to clear his thoughts, Gary shakes his head, “And I couldn’t help but think that… under different circumstances... maybe we’d be together.”

As soon as she finishes listening to his statement, Minni’s eyes widen for a moment, not just because she’s surprised by what he is saying but also because he seems to be hesitant about it, like if he didn’t know whether he should say that or not. Knowing Gary, he’s always a very forward and honest lad, so seeing him vacillate so much proper confuses her, not realizing that his sudden shyness comes from him being afraid of messing things up or of getting separated from her again.

Once what the blue-eyed man’s just said sinks in, Minni finally understands what his intentions are, regardless of the unsure way in which he delivered his words. Just now she is starting to convince herself that Gary is being serious about wanting to be with her. His words, the way he looks at her, the way he touches her and his overall body language, it all indicates he wants _her_. And he is the one she wants to be with, especially when she feels this persisting, deep sensation inside of her that keeps bringing him to her thoughts even if he’s not around.

A few seconds pass while the blond man looks at her with a sincere expression and expecting a response, and he’s about to back pedal with some sort of joke when the young woman finally speaks.

“Perhaps it’s not too late for that, don’t you think?” she smiles and lets out a breathy and timid laugh. While still looking at him, her long eyelashes bat and she feels her heart is going to explode at the realization that things might finally work for them, after all. And, even if taking a decision as hard as to let go of Carl wasn’t the most pleasing thing to do while at Casa Amor, she’s now so grateful for having come back single to Gary. She might’ve not had this special chance with him if she would’ve made another choice.

As time passes, more often Minni finds herself dreaming about the Chathamite’s broad frame, his plaid covered arms and cosy chest. She now has him in front of her and admires the goofy smile that appears on his face after hearing her answer, his baby blue eyes twinkling behind his optical glasses, and feels his big arm still securely hugging her shoulders. Warmth from him radiates to her, and she notices she has missed this too— just _being_ with him, simply next to him. They haven’t had a private chat like this since pretty much the beginning of the show.

There’s no need for more words on her end to reassure Gary. He just basks in the moment, taking his time to enjoy the way he feels right now, how fuzzy and comfortable this girl makes him feel and how grateful he is of finally having some alone time with her.

He’s sinking in this special and uncanny sensation of closeness when Chelsea’s voice can be heard across the lawn, snapping both of them out of their blissful state. Because of this, the blue-eyed pair turns around to take a look at what’s going on in the kitchen, but they only see some Islanders hanging out and having a good time, probably still catching up. As they can’t make up what the blonde girl has just said, with it apparently not being directed to them either, both turn to face the pool once more, their small sparkling moment cut short.

After the quick interruption, it’s like the two of them get reminded of their respective partners having switched and what it actually means to technically not have a partner in here. Getting dumped from the Island is still an eerie possibility that seems to be looming over them, and after having joked about both being single, they now realize the probable consequences of it. As Gary’s arm tenses a bit, Minni sighs and directs her gaze to the moving water in front of them.

The physics student’s expression turns more serious, her big eyes blinking slowly to try and hide her inner worrisome. “I’m sorry Chelsea switched. I never really thought she would,” she sighs.

Gary shakes his head at her words. “It’s fine,” he responds, not being too bothered about it. He’s surely bummed out, but is not feeling anything beyond that, and he guesses that it could be because he didn’t even have the opportunity to get attached to her. Now noticing that Minni kind of dodges his look, he lightly rubs the brunette’s shoulder with his thumb to try and get her attention; he has learned that she always avoids eye contact when she’s trying to pretend she feels better than she actually does, “How are you feeling? About Lucas and Blake, I mean.”

“I… I don’t know,” Minni confesses. Tentatively, she evades staring at the crane operator’s caring expression, not wanting to appear _too vulnerable_ in front of him. Still, the trust they share helps her open up to him. “Lucas only chose me because he didn’t fancy anyone else, after all. When I realized that, I wasn’t too happy by the idea of being coupled up with him, and he wasn’t too chuffed either… but at least I hoped he would stick so I wouldn’t have to be single _again_ ,” she tries to explain. “Still, I’m… now I’m happy for him. I’m glad he’s found someone he genuinely likes. That’s why we’re all here anyway.”

Feeling better after letting some of her negative emotions out, Minni relaxes once more and finally feels ready to direct her eyes to Gary’s. She encounters a truthful and incredibly thoughtful expression, bearded cheeks slightly stretched to form a small, yet welcoming smile. The unsure Gary she saw a few minutes ago completely vanished after she reassured him of wanting the two of them to pick up where they left off, leaving his usual cheeky persona on full display, something she’s always found so attractive. The freckled girl knows he paid full attention to what she was saying and that he is aware of what makes her feel uneasy and worried, but she sees in his eyes the anticipation of one of his confident remarks, meant to distract her from her murky thoughts.

Because of this and even more because of the fact that she _knows_ what he is going to do next, Minni can feel an energetic electricity in the air and, all of the sudden, it seems like the Villa’s colours look brighter. Soon and without meaning to, their faces get tantalizingly closer and closer, until they’re almost sharing the same air.

“Have you found that? Someone you like?” Gary asks in a soft but assured whisper. He can sense his face growing warmer at every second that passes with having her this close. Inevitably, his eyes move back and forth between Minni’s strikingly bright ocean irises and her pink, plumped and desirable lips. Just now he takes a notice of how much he needs and craves to press his lips against hers and savour her strawberry-tasting mouth.

The blue-eyed man’s heart is pounding so heavily against his ribcage that it seems not even the layers of thick muscle that surround it could be enough to hold it back; it’s like it just wanted to escape his chest and stick to Minni’s, like a magnet. With this, Gary realizes that perhaps his heart doesn’t belong just to him anymore— perhaps a part of it has actually been hers for quite some time, and that’s why he keeps coming back to her, why the rest of him feels an urgent need to be hers entirely.

With his lips hovering near hers, the blond man gets struck by a sensation of familiarity, all of this taking him back to their first day in the Villa, when they were sitting at the daybeds under this same night sky, the same cool breeze moving the bushes and everything being rather quiet around them. He starts thinking that maybe everything feels so similar because he’s been subconsciously repeating that moment in his head whenever he has some time away from the rest of the Islanders and is left alone with his thoughts, which always wander towards Minerva. The most evident difference between this moment and what happened back then is that now they have a _history_ , they have memories and shared moments that do not date back to a mere day of having met.

Whereas Gary’s peppermint scent invades her space, Minni’s emotions spin. All she can think of is the unbelievably handsome man that’s in front of her, his smirk being so enticingly close and his nose nearly grazing hers. When she gazes at his crystal blue sight landing on her own lips and then on her eyes again, as if he is asking for permission, her insides tug towards him, inviting her to get nearer. She can’t help asking herself if this is how celestial bodies feel like when they get inevitably pulled by a strong gravitational field.

“Yes, I have,” the physics student murmurs, her eyes locked on Gary’s and not being able to think of a more elaborate phrase, as everything her mind processes is him and him only. “Have you?”

Instead of articulating a proper response, the crane operator just focuses on how the beautiful brunette’s look mimics his and goes down to his lips. In this instant, it feels like they’re completely alone, the rest of the Villa dissolving, leaving just the illumination that the yellow fairy lights provide, the imperceptible ripples of the pool water and the gentle wind that strokes their skins. It’s that same gravity the young woman felt that seems to pull them together, like the two parts of matching magnets which have just found their other half, a half they were missing.

Minni’s eyes flutter shut as Gary is the one to close the space between them. Even if she was insecure about what he really thought of the two of them being back together, she can now easily read the need through his touches, which immediately mould with hers.

As all his senses get focused on her, the muscular blond can feel her lips, that deliciously taste like strawberry lip balm, kissing him thoroughly, at the slow, alluring pace that characterizes her. He gets more confident meanwhile his world explodes into blasting sparks, not being able to think about anything else whereas he leans forward and meets her with a little more force. Inevitably, a cocky grin tugs at his cheeks as her breath shudders when his tongue playfully traces her bottom lip.

Eagerly, Minni opens her mouth for him and he keeps kissing her passionately, all the while his thumb softly strokes her cheek and his other hand simply rests on the back of her neck, like if it was a silent reminder that he’s thinking of her at all times. Because of this, the blue-eyed girl knows that if she pauses for a second too long, he’d pull away to check on her to make sure she’s comfortable with all of this.

It takes seconds for their kissing to become calmer and gentler, the burning passion and desperation being appeased and leaving raw affection, care and tenderness. Gary’s lips plush softly over Minni’s, taking his time to transmit all the feelings he has for her, his stomach filling with butterflies when noticing that she reciprocates the exact same way, with the same fondness and sweetness.

The blond man can still phantom the sensation of her large eyelashes brushing his cheekbones and the way her mouth tastes when he delicately pulls away, eyes still closed and breath still a little shallow, only an inch of space remaining between them. He stays like that for a couple of heartbeats, simply breathing, until he feels a soothing and small hand running through the side of his head, slender fingers briefly intertwining with his pale locks before going down to cup his cheek. Still not opening his eyes, Gary tilts his head, leaning against Minni’s hand.

The adorable smile she pulls out of him makes the blue-eyed girl blush. By seeing such a muscular and rugged-looking crane operator, she sometimes has to remind herself how soft he actually is on the inside, how much affection and reassurance he truly needs. Even if it’s mostly hidden, this is one of the layers of Gary’s personality that she’s grown to worship the most. Right now, Minni wishes she could watch him being this at ease all the time.

A small, contempt sigh slips through the Chatham man’s lips before his eyelids flutter open. At first, the brunette girl expected to encounter a loving look in them, but ends up finding a glimmer of mischievousness.

“Enjoying the view up close, are you?” his voice deepens seductively as he asks.

Loving it when he gets this cocky, Minni giggles unperceptively. “You’re quite the view, Rennell,” she admits, replying just as flirty. Her words quickly transform his smile into a confident grin.

In this same moment, an unanticipated thought hits Gary’s mind, like lightning running down his back. The muscular man stiffens a bit and almost feels the impulse to put some distance between them as soon as he notices that this doesn’t feel like the other times they’ve kissed— it all feels stronger, amplified.

This causes Gary to realize that he has actually _fallen_ for Minni while she was away. He has fallen for this dainty and sweet girl, who seems to hold the knowledge of the stars inside that pretty mind of hers. He has fallen for her banter, her playful sense of humour and quirky jokes, for every inch of her body, which he never gets tired of contemplating and wishes he could graze with his fingertips whenever he pleases. He knows he has fallen because his heart swells at the sight of her batting her long eyelashes without meaning to, of how utterly gorgeous she always looks when she lets out her characteristic short giggles. The infatuated crane operator is now sure of it because his fingers itch to touch her skin nonetheless and there’s this uneasiness in his chest that urges him to bring comfort to her whenever she feels down.

All of these thoughts and sensations merge and the only one Gary can properly grasp is an inescapable impulse of wrapping his strong arms around her for hours on end just to make her feel safe, to let her know that she’s secure with him, because he understands that both have been adrift since they got split.

Gary has fallen hard and, all of the sudden, it scares the hell out of him, because the only he has known is birds seeing him as a quick, muscular hunk for a bar or club hook-up, so there is a little voice inside his head always warning him about these kinds of things. But then he reminds himself that he can’t let the opportunity of having Minni pass, that she is one of a kind and deserves to be _trusted_ by him. The blond man always gives people the benefit of the doubt and she will be no exception, especially because of how trustworthy and caring of others she has proven to be during their time in the Villa. It just takes him a second to come to the conclusion that the brunette girl would never hurt him on purpose and that she’s not playing with his feelings.

Would his nan like Minni? He asks himself. There’s no doubt about it— that woman would like the physics student to pieces and that makes it so much easier for Gary to let Minni completely in. This is exactly what he came looking for when he entered the Villa; the excitement of just seeing someone, feeling this kind of flutters in his chest and, most of all, falling in love.

Silence remains for a moment, with the blue-eyed girl not quite noticing the brief change of Gary’s mindset. Whereas he convinces himself that it’s best for him to play it cool while he navigates carefully into this new territory and comes to terms with his realization, Minni gets distracted once again by the beauty of the night sky, also feeling all her senses heightened because the rush of adrenaline that has poured into her bloodstream after having kissed Gary.

Without being able to contain her fascination for the cosmos, her gaze turns upwards, her face lighting up at the sight of the crescent moon. The crane operator does the same, more to try and contain himself to adoringly stare at her face, because if he does, he knows he’ll definitely _fall in love_ with the view of her big blue eyes looking up in ecstasy, illuminated by small sparkles of light.

“You have any idea of what’s next for us, the singles?” Minni asks him, unexpectedly. She directs her sight to him, curious of what he has to say.

Before answering, Gary throws his arms behind his head and leans slightly backwards, this letting her know how unbothered he has become about the topic. Instead of being concerned, he’s currently excited to see what happens next between both of them. A cheeky smirk corners his lips, “Well, first of all, now I don’t quite consider myself single.”

**In the bedroom – Night-time.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olGSAVOkkTI)**

Giggles float in the communal bedroom as Minni and Gary rush inside. It took a couple of minutes of more conversation for them to come up with the idea of sneaking into the bedroom to claim beds while everyone is busy talking to each other and catching up; it’s the perfect way for them to choose which bed they want to sleep in until the next Recoupling.

Before Gary can ask Minni what bed she prefers, or even if she wants to share beds with him, the young woman is already jogging towards one of the corner beds. With a grin on her face, she flings herself towards it and lands on her back, spreading her arms and legs at either side of her petite frame. She looks like she's making a snow angel with the white duvet.

“Mine!” she exclaims.

After laughing at her playfulness, Gary offers her help to unpack her belongings. Minni is delighted by his offer and soon they’re both calmly folding her clothing and putting them back in her drawers. While seeing the brunette girl do this kind of daily life stuff, the crane operator can’t help but feel his heart swallowing. He wonders what it would be like to share a life with her on the outside and get to do these things— he can’t believe that he finds himself dreamily picturing doing the washing up with her.

In an attempt to snap out of his daydream, Gary takes a moment to look around and, just when his baby blue eyes land in his own drawer, he is quick to remember the notebook he found this morning. A huge smile stretches his golden cheeks, causing Minni to stare at him quite puzzled on the turn of his chill attitude. The freckled girl has no time to ask him anything, because the muscular man is already making his way to his personal drawer. She watches him get something out of it and hide it behind his back before she can see what it is, and then he returns to his place next to her and in front of the corner bed.

“I assumed this was yours,” the blond man states. Then, he finally shows her what he was holding behind his back. “And don’t worry, I took good care of it,” he banters.

Minni’s eyes open incredibly wide, not believing the sight of the silver cover of her notebook. She’s not able to hold her happiness, so she ends up letting out a delighted squeal and throwing herself at Gary’s arms, who luckily has quick reflexes to catch her in time. After that, she takes the notebook between her small and pale hands and goes through the pages briefly, to further convince herself that it’s actually _her notebook_ and that it’s intact.

“Where did you find it?” the physics student asks, in awe.

“Under Noah’s bed,” the crane operator answers. “I was looking for a shoe,” he adds, sheepishly.

“Thank you so much, Gar,” Minni says, being deeply sincere. She turns her eyes from the notebook to him, her happy expression making his heart rate increase.

Willing to keep up with the flirty banter nonetheless, Gary positions himself behind her to peek at the open notebook over her delicate shoulder. Mischievousness takes over his expression, “Oh mate, your handwriting is _terrible._ ”

The girl scowls instantly, though she’s not truly offended. “Hey!” she exclaims, bringing the notebook closer to her chest so he can’t see the pages anymore.

“At first I thought I was reading a dead language, if I’m honest,” the blond keeps teasing, purposefully putting his face closer to hers.

Even if Minni feels her cheeks blushing at the sensation of his breath against the side of her neck, she crosses her arms to protect her notebook and stays still. Her frown even deepens as she plays out that she got even more angry at his teasing, and she’s about to continue with a witty reply until she unexpectedly recalls something.

Without saying anything, Gary watches the young woman solemnly turning around to face him. Next, she shyly takes a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, which the muscular man recognizes right away.

“Well, I must admit that your handwriting is better than mine,” Minni says, timid.

The crane operator’s smile widens; he is more than chuffed to see that she’s had the note he sent to her inside her pocket all this time, probably since she arrived at the Villa, giving the fact that they haven’t separated since. His mind buzzes when he realizes that it _did_ mean something for her, after all. “I’m glad you liked it,” he responds, honestly.

He is about to say something else when he gets caught in the magnetism of Minni’s blue orbs. She is looking at him this way because she’s simply astounded by the spark that appeared in his eyes once he saw that she still has the note and that, most of all, she’s grateful for it. Gary’s thoughtfulness and kindness draw her to sink into his loving gaze, their bodies closer than when they were chatting near the infinity pool minutes ago.

Feeling hypnotized by the moment they’re having, Gary places his hand on her cheek. He smiles when he figures out that this is the perfect opportunity to ask her if she wants to share a bed with him tonight, since they’re both single and evidently have feelings for each other. Gently, the man puts a strand of hair behind her ear, so he can see her beautiful face better, “Sorry if this is all a bit weird, but…”

“Minni?”

The pair rapidly turns around at the sound of a deep voice calling the Cantabrigian’s name. They are surprised to see Lucas awkwardly standing near the glass wall that leads to the lawn.

Minni’s expression shifts almost unnoticeably. She didn’t expect Lucas to come and try to talk to her, at least not tonight, so she’s more than confused about him having interrupted her conversation with Gary. Still, she’s quite relieved for not seeing signs of Blake coming with him.

“Can I pull you for a chat?” the physiotherapist politely asks now that he has her full attention.

The young woman senses Gary puff out his chest next to her, trying to act like he isn’t bothered by having their moment cut short. Still, he knows that Lucas’ intentions are genuinely good and that he is probably looking to have the chat he promised yesterday. The blond man knows that Minni will feel much better afterwards, so he has no option but to let her go. Gently, Gary places his hand on the blue-eyed girl’s lower back and beckons her to go with Lucas, knowing that she will need this to close a chapter and to clear things up with him.

Feeling less confused, Minni nods. “Sure,” she replies. As Lucas heads out, she turns to Gary and tenderly hands him her beloved notebook with the note inside of it. After that, she touches his muscular shoulder softly, a reassuring smirk forming in her plumped lips, “Be right back.”

**In the bedroom – Night-time.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TA_PqIS1WM)**

“Don’t you think us, the singles, should get to choose our own beds? That’s fair, right?” Minni can hear Bobby’s chipper voice saying as soon as she enters the communal bedroom.

The young woman is pleasantly surprised to get struck by a sensation of familiarity when she sees the original boys hanging out near the mirror and most of the original girls already sitting on their beds. Them being together again makes her feel comfortable, not missing the newness of Casa Amor one bit.

What catches her attention after that is noticing that Bobby is splayed out on one of the corner beds. A jokey smile stretches his face and each of his limbs points to a different corner.

“Keep dreaming, Bobby,” Rahim chuckles.

Before someone can say anything else or follow along the banter, Lottie strolls in through the doors. Her presence immediately makes the ambiance feel a bit heavier, even more when she stares at the Scottish with an annoyed expression. “Get up,” she orders.

It’s evident that she’s in a bad mood, and most Islanders suspect that she’s just trying to deal with her disappointment towards Ibrahim for having switched when, in reality, the blonde girl is immensely irritated by the fact that Gary and Minni looked _very close_ all of the sudden. While all of them were in the fire pit, the makeup artist couldn’t help but notice the crane operator practically giving Minni heart eyes and, on top of that, the blue-eyed girl pulled him for a chat, causing Lottie to just want to avoid looking at them while they sat cosily near the pool area; the Aussie thought Gary had remained single for her, giving the fact that they were coupled up before Ibrahim chose her, but apparently that’s not the case and it’s certainly not something that delights her. Now, the thought is making her progressively more jealous, particularly because she was sure that there was no way Minni would get in her way again and she doesn’t want to deal with the trouble of having to push her aside once more.

“What?” the pastry chef asks, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

Lottie’s frown deepens, “That is just not happening. You’re not taking a whole bed to yourself.”

“Well, Minni and Gary did,” Bobby shrugs, pointing at the other corner bed, the one that is near the bigger mirror and drawers, and then pointing at another one that’s two beds away, where Gary is sitting.

Rapidly, the physics student feels all the eyes on her. She blinks a couple of times while standing in the doorway, quite puzzled because she’s just entered the bedroom. Indeed, she placed all her belongings in the other corner bed in an attempt to claim it, and none of the Islanders have moved her stuff elsewhere. A mischievous smile forms in her lips as she shrugs, satisfied by the fact that nobody can move her from that bed, which is the one everyone wants to sleep in because it’s placed in a rather private spot in comparison to the others. 

“That’s because they were smart and came in here earlier to claim beds while everyone was distracted. I think it’s fair to let them keep them,” Lucas replies, entering the bedroom just behind Minni, since both are just arriving from their chat at the roof terrace. With a gentle smile, he winks at her and then walks towards the bed in which Blake is sitting.

In honest words, when the physiotherapist pulled Minni for a chat, she had no idea what to expect, particularly because she thought that she and Lucas didn’t have much to talk about now that they weren’t in a couple. It was so refreshing for the brunette girl to hear him basically explaining himself and what lead to him switching to Blake but, most importantly, being sincerely apologetic about having hurt Minni’s feelings when picking her as third best in the Recoupling that occurred before the girls went away to Casa Amor. With the blue-eyed girl’s kind-hearted nature and Lucas’ will to apologize easing off the chat, they ended up agreeing on being friends just like they’ve always been and to leave all that potential drama behind. Now, both have to just focus on enjoying their stay in the Villa.

After having Lucas backing them up, Gary grins confidently and lies on his bed, which is two beds away from the one Minni chose. Because the blond man couldn’t ask her properly to share beds, he decided to claim his own while she was at the roof terrace. He would’ve liked to have more time to chat with her, especially to ask her privately, but now that everyone is here his chances of having another special moment with the freckled girl have lowered massively. On the bright side, it looks like nobody saw them kissing near the pool, or at least no-one has mentioned it yet— with how fast gossip spreads around the Villa, Gary is sure he would’ve gotten cheeky glances by now, but nothing like that has happened so far, which leads him to assume that none of the Islanders saw what the blue-eyed pair was up to.

“Yeah, you’re like an hour too late, Bobby,” Ibrahim laughs, still speaking to the Scottish, who maintains his stretched position on the mattress he wants to claim.

This causes Gary to let out an animated chuckle. “There’s so many people here, it’s going to be all hands on deck,” he comments.

Without warning, Graham walks into the room, holding his toothbrush. “It’s the opposite of all hands on deck. That would mean there were loads of beds free,” the red-haired man corrects him.

Once only Gary grumbles something under his breath as a response, the Islanders resume getting ready to sleep, with Bobby attempting to light things up by cheekily offering Lottie to share beds with him. Aside from her scowl, it seems like everyone else is in a better mood than when the group was split into two Villas, something that is rapidly turned upside down once a text arrives, announcing that tomorrow there will be a Dumping. It just takes that to make the communal bedroom silent, everyone soundlessly trying to decipher if the ones getting dumped are the four singles or one of the couples. Before most of the Islanders can process the information any further, the lights have already turned off and the room stays quiet.

Minutes pass and Gary’s light blue eyes appear to be permanently open. He is wide awake, lying on his side as he glances intently towards Minni’s bed. The idea of her finally being back in the Villa, the kiss they shared and the confessions they made are keeping the crane operator’s energy so high up that he feels he could run a thousand miles without breaking a sweat.

He blinks, debating with himself. He can’t think of anything else that’s not the feeling of the brunette girl’s smooth legs against his, to hear her quiet breathing near his ear and to drift into sleep while smelling her berry scented hair— all he can think of is _her_ , and he understands this because he now knows that he has already fallen, something that makes it harder to contain his feelings for her and try to play it cool.

It takes a second for Gary to remind himself that he has experienced those same sensations just once, during his first night in the Villa. He scolds himself for not appreciating it enough, for not memorizing every detail so now he could revive it more vividly.

The crane operator watches Minni shifting sides to face in his direction, then snuggling onto her pillow with her eyes already closed. Seeing her like this awakes some kind of cuddling instinct inside of him, making him want to hold her against his chest. All of the sudden, he realizes that there’s nothing stopping him; both of them are single and she said that she has feelings for him, plus he already feels stupid enough by just staring at her for this much time.

While evening her breathing, the physics student’s chocolate brown hair cascades in front of her face. She hasn’t noticed Gary being awake a few beds away, just because she’s already feeling incredibly sluggish. Not having slept yesterday, all the energy she wasted today by worrying about coming back to the Villa and her chat with Lucas ended up draining her; not even her concern about tomorrow’s Dumping can keep her awake. In the moment she is starting to doze off, she hears a faint ruffling of bedsheets coming from another place in the communal bedroom, which is actually caused by Gary getting up.

The muscular blond silently tiptoes towards Minni’s bed, trying to do it as fast as he can as to not give himself time to second-guess and backpedal. Being quiet, he lifts the white duvet and gets in swiftly. A cheeky beam forms in his face, complimenting the joyful sparkling of his eyes.

Puzzled by the unexpected feeling of a heavy weight on her mattress, Minni raises her eyebrow and opens her eyes. Once she realizes that the man beside her is none other than Gary, she can’t help but smile softly. Her skin gets covered in goosebumps, dissipating some of the fogginess that was pulling her into a deep slumber.

“Hey,” the blue-eyed girl whispers, keeping her composure. “What’s going on?”

The crane operator shifts closer, so their bodies are inches apart. “I was cold. It’s a chilly night, innit?” he says, flirty.

Minni giggles silently when she notices that he’s pretending to shiver slightly. Indeed, tonight is a bit cold, but Gary is such a muscular and big man that he expels body heat without even having to move. “Did you lose your human-radiator ability while I was away?” the girl teases.

“I think so,” the blond replies, following along and not losing his confident demeanour. “Would you help me?”

His response makes the young woman chuckle a bit louder than she intended to. Because of this, Minni covers her mouth, hoping she didn’t wake anyone up. Despite this, Lottie manages to hear something and lifts her head upwards from another bed. She immediately looks around, prepared to scold whoever is making noise right after everyone went to sleep, but when she sees that Gary has snuck to Minni’s bed and that they’re the ones whispering, her face falls. The makeup artist feels a sudden rush of coldness striker her body, like if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water all over her. The only thing she is able to do is frown and cover herself completely with her duvet, trying to ignore the situation until she can confront Gary in private tomorrow. Needless to say, she’s so annoyed at him that she doesn’t know what to do.

Meanwhile, as soon as their gazes lock for more than a couple of seconds, Minni and Gary become completely oblivious to the bedroom that surrounds them. A few nights ago, all they did was to doubt each other’s feelings and sulk about how confused they were, so now being this close seems ethereal and surreal.

“You can stay, with one condition,” the freckled girl sys playfully, trying to hide the fact that she is beyond thrilled by his advances. Her heart beats fast whereas the minty smell of Gary’s body-wash reaches her nose.

The blond man grins, loving the spontaneous nature of the situation, “Do tell.”

Although Minni is not one to get overly flustered by men’s charms, her throat tightens a little just because of the excitement of having the crane operator this close, this threatening to bring down her cool façade. “Cuddles,” she manages to whisper.

For a second, Gary’s left confused, “Huh?”

“I want you to cuddle me. Oh, and a cuppa tomorrow morning,” the brunette clarifies with a tender smile.

Now understanding, Gary beams at the request. He was planning on doing both things anyway, and is glad that they’re of Minni’s liking. “That’s the best deal I’ve ever heard,” he answers, kindly. Without saying anything else, he is quick to lie on his back and extend his muscular arm to her side, “Here.”

Minni shifts with content, her movements delicate as she lies on her belly to rest her head on the man’s bare chest. When closing the distance between them, she can hear his heartbeat reverberating on her ear, the rhythm being soothing and peaceful despite going a bit too fast. He is so cosy and his skin radiates so much warmth that she has the sensation that her body is going to reach its melting point; this confirms that he didn’t exactly come to her bed seeking warmth, after all.

A soft sigh indistinctly escapes Gary’s lips. He moves both of his arms, one to wrap around her shoulders and the other so he can place his hand gently on the back of her head. After tucking the duvet around both, the crane operator starts playing with Minni’s brown hair. The physics student involuntarily hums, now definitely melting at his touch. It will always be a mystery to her how such a tough-looking man can be this tender, as his fingers glide smoothly across the silky strands of her hair. She can’t believe those same fingers operate huge metal machines for a living and lift heavy weights at the gym for fun. Her eyes flutter shut immediately— maybe cuddling Gary like this could actually help her cure her insomnia.

Amongst the light snoring of the rest of the Islanders and the occasional rustling of bedsheets, Minni and Gary stay quiet for a few seconds, none of them ready to exit this moment by falling asleep. After a while, the blond man stops caressing the young woman’s hair and closes his eyes, inhaling deeply. The smell of raspberries tickles his nose, making him nearly feel drunk by it, eager to catch a few more whiffs but still bringing him a sense of comfort. Sweet, light pink; he almost forgot how _sweet_ his world feels when he’s next to Minerva.

“I missed you,” he murmurs, then.

Following that, he looks down at her, hoping she wasn’t already sleeping when he spoke. Needless to say, he’s met with sparking, electric blue eyes.

“I missed you, too,” Minni smirks at him and moves closer to nuzzle his broad chest.

Feeling overwhelmed by all the positive sensations he can possibly experience in this moment, the blond man smiles back at her and tightens his hug around her small body. The feeling of their bodies pressed together is nearly unreal, like if they were floating, with the clouds beneath them rocking them to sleep. This is definitely one of the most relaxing nights the blue-eyed girl has had since she came into the Villa. It makes all those sleepless and stressed out nights vanish like if they never happened.

“‘Night,” Gary mumbles, half asleep already and placing a lazy kiss on her freckled cheekbone. He closes his eyes while her calm breathing and cold, soft curves seem to only sink him further into some dreamland. He feels so comfortable, so at ease and so comfy. This is the closest the crane operator has felt to something he can only name as somewhere he _belongs to_ since he entered the show.

“Goodnight,” the brunette girl responds, relaxing against him once more before closing her eyes as well.

With their breathings and heartbeats matching, the rest of the bedroom fades as they drift into sleep, being comfortable and not worrying about what might happen tomorrow, who could get sent home or if they will get separated once again. None of it matters for now, with the only thought in both of their minds is how much this resembles the first night they shared and that all of their nights in the Villa should’ve been like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> awww i hope you guys got as soft reading the reencounter of our beloved blue-eyed softies as i got writing it :'D but will it stay that way? bwahahaha.  
> aaand here's the surprise: [https://www.reddit.com/r/fuseboxgames/comments/iaonaz/commission_for_ucassiahalley/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3] yes, people :3 i commissioned Minni to amazing artist smaiihands on reddit, in case you want to check out how space girl actually looks like :OO having my mc on paper is honestly a dream come true!  
> anyway, thank you for reading and supporting this fic, and also thank you for waiting this long haha.｡.:*☆ see you next chapter :*


	17. Day 18 - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A silent groan escapes the blond man’s lips then, as he gently cuddles the physics student a bit closer. These are the little moments he’s grown to cherish the most, particularly because time is a big deal for him; more than anything, he hopes to spend his time with Minni from now on. ‘Where you spend your time is where you spend your life’, he’s heard somewhere, and all he can think of is that his life is much better when she’s around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, beautiful people! long time no see :D i'm back with a brand new chapter that's split into two parts, because they just keep getting longer and longer haha. i've been very very busy lately and that's why i haven't been able to update this baby. i truly wanted to have the time to write long-ass, well-thought chapters, and here we are at the end :3 like i replied to someone in the comments, i'm planning on finishing this fic even if it takes me a long time to do so✿ so even if i disappear for a couple of months, keep in mind that i will eventually update! anyway, thanks for waiting and i hope you enjoy this chapter.｡.:*☆

**Day 18**

**Part 1.**

**In the bedroom – Morning.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atxCI8KdYe0)**

It’s the slight feeling of movement beneath him what pulls Gary out of his deep slumber. Drowsily, he finds himself comfortably lying on his stomach, over a soft and cold surface. There’s a sweet and familiar scent engulfing him all over. The moment he opens his lethargic light blue eyes, he realizes that he was sleeping over Minni’s chest, with one of his hands over her stomach and their legs messily tangled together.

Because the lights of the communal bedroom are still off, the only source of illumination are the dim rays of sunshine that creep between the large curtains, which gives everything a greyish blue tint. And, asides from some sporadic snores, the room is rather quiet. It’s evident that being all together again has brought a kind of peace to the Islanders, causing everyone to be fast asleep even though it’s likely that the lights will turn on within the next hour. It should’ve been the same for the crane operator, but here he is, sluggishly blinking and staring at Minerva, to convince himself that he’s not dreaming somehow.

After letting out a small yet dreamy sigh, the Chathamite slowly lifts his head so he can see her better. Minni is soundly asleep, her freckled face tilted to one side and chocolate brown hair slightly tangled and splayed across the pillow. Now that his senses are more awake, Gary can also perceive that she has placed one hand on the back of his head, with her slender fingers intertwined in his blond locks, and that her other hand is gently positioned in the middle of his bare back; it’s like their positions were reversed from last night.

The blue-eyed man stays still, contemplating her and wishing he could stretch this instant for as long as he wants. A few nights ago, he could only imagine being close to Minni like this, less cuddling all night and waking up with his face restfully placed on her lingerie-covered chest. He can practically breathe in the calmness that comes in with each rise and fall of her stomach. While being quite frozen in this state, just looking at her fondly and with a small smile on his lips, the Chathamite can’t help but feel like a bloody melt.

From this distance he can see the corners of her eyes tightening almost unperceptively. Following that, he feels the soft movements of her fingers and her hand slides from the back of his head towards his nape. Because of this, the bulky man wonders if she’s dreaming— perhaps she’s thinking of him right now, although she’s probably just dreaming of planets and stardust… or math equations.

A silent groan escapes the blond man’s lips then, as he gently cuddles the physics student a bit closer. These are the little moments he’s grown to cherish the most, particularly because time is a big deal for him; more than anything, he hopes to spend his time with Minni from now on. ‘Where you spend your time is where you spend your life’, he’s heard somewhere, and all he can think of is that his life is much better when she’s around.

In honest words, Gary is a simple man, so he reckons this is pretty much all he’s ever needed, especially since he realized he’s actually falling for Minni. He’s just starting to sink contentedly into the warmth of the bedsheets and allowing himself to enjoy the moment when, suddenly, the lights turn on.

Like usual, the communal bedroom echoes with faint sounds of protest, until a thundering voice breaks the atmosphere. “Come on, everyone,” Graham, one of the new boys, yells from his bed with a big beam on his face.

The crane operator can’t avoid rolling his eyes with annoyance and snuggling close to Minni’s chest in order to ignore the disruption. Gary knows that the red-haired man probably works near the ocean, therefore he must be used to speaking over the sea’s noise, but there’s no need to be this loud in here. Luckily, the brunette girl is still profoundly asleep in Gary’s arms, which he finds odd when he recalls that she often has a light sleep.

“Rise and shine!” the tall sailor insists with a happy voice tone. “It’s another beautiful morning in paradise.”

The instant the Devonian’s loud exclamations reach her ears, Minni jumps awake, her eyes snapping open and immediately scanning her surroundings. When listening to Graham’s characteristic morning greeting, the freckled girl’s drowsy mind leads her to believe they’re still in Casa Amor, and that thought brings a lot of confusion when she sees none other than Gary’s sleepy face staring right back at her. All she can do for a moment is ask herself how did the crane operator get into Casa Amor when he should be back in the Villa.

As the blond man uses his elbow to prop himself upwards and give her some space, he can see perplexity swirling in Minni’s cobalt blue irises. Considering she’s evidently half asleep and doesn’t know what’s going on, he thinks it would be better to gently help her snap out of it. “Earth to Minni. I repeat, Earth to Minni,” he begins in a cheeky whisper.

Gary’s voice and jokey comment definitely help the physics student tie reality with what she’s seeing. Carefully, she straightens her back and takes a better look at him. With bright light blue eyes, the Chathamite is patiently looking at her, an adorable beam shaping his bearded cheeks.

Immediately after, the events from last night fill Minni’s mind, causing her to feel shy and giddy all of the sudden. She almost can’t believe what happened between the two of them, but she’s not complaining whatsoever— her freckled cheekbones flush with pink colour, and she knows well that the only man that has this effect on her is Gary.

“Houston, we’ve had a problem,” the crane operator keeps trying to get Minni’s attention. He surely finds it funny to see her all dozy like this, “The objective is not responding, over.”

After finally recovering her senses and because of his comical imitation of an astronaut’s voice, the Cantabrigian lets out a light-hearted giggle. She not only feels happy for being here with Gary, but also simply because she’s back in the Villa with all of her friends.

Sighing with relief, Minni proceeds to run her fingers over the side of the blue-eyed man’s head, caressing his pale locks. In return, he lets his head rest against her chest again, just to enjoy her pets.

“That’s easy to say when you’re safely coupled up,” Lottie’s voice is heard next, obviously complaining to Graham’s greeting. The makeup artist is lying on her side and lifting her head with one hand, supported by her tattooed elbow. “Maybe some of us would rather sleep so we don’t have to think of how single we are,” she barks, pissed off. When she finishes this last phrase, she briefly eyes at Minni and Gary, who are still cuddling in the corner bed, but doesn’t say anything else on the matter.

“Well, you won’t get coupled up any quicker with that attitude,” Graham shoots back, shrugging.

Finding the red-haired man’s response quite hilarious, Minni bites off a smile. Then, she proceeds to clumsily cover herself and Gary with the duvet, to hide her cheeky expression from the rest of the Islanders because she doesn’t want to come off as rude. Whereas Lottie complains more and other people get involved in the conversation, the brunette girl has already created what looks like a bedsheet bubble for her and Gary to share. Trying to ignore the situation that’s occurring outside of their small blanket fort, she turns her eyes to him and caresses his bare back in a soothing manner.

Already feeling like the luckiest man in the world, the blond man is thankful that he can get to escape the drama. He gives the young woman a warm smirk and gets closer. “What was that startle of yours?” he murmurs, his voice deep and raspy from just waking up. “I’m not _that_ ugly in the morning.”

Laughing at his joke, Minni stretches beneath his muscular body. “For some reason... by hearing Graham’s voice I thought... I thought we were still in Casa Amor,” she mumbles, her lips still numb from slumber. “And I got all confused by seeing you here, because you were supposed to be in the Villa, you know,” the freckled girl explains, sheepish.

“Good thing I snapped you out of it,” Gary replies, his lips curling onto a cocky smile against the skin of her collarbone. “You owe me,” he decides to add, playfully.

While she keeps drawing gentle patterns on his bare back, the physics student’s first instinct is to ask what he would like in return, in hopes to get a cheeky kiss from him or even something more, until she remembers the conversation they had last night. “That reminds me,” she’s quick to say, matching his mischievousness. “ _You_ are the one who owes me a little something.”

Gary can’t help but chuckle at her teasing, knowing that she’s referring to the cuppa he promised to make for her. “Are you sure you don’t want something else?” he suggests, giving her a flirty look.

Although he’s flirting with that confident attitude that makes Minni’s stomach burst into butterflies, she’s also feeling like having fun with him for a while. The brunette girl lets Gary’s gaze linger on her face for a moment, giving him the sensation that her teasing is flaking to his charms. Then, when he leans forward, closes his eyes and puckers up, she surprises him by biting his bottom lip.

As she lightly squeezes his lip between her teeth, Minni can hear him letting out a small groan and her fingertips perceive his back getting covered in goosebumps right away. Surprised and with his heartbeat accelerating, Gary opens his eyes.

“Oh, I can’t believe I forgot you’re a biter,” he comments, his voice acquiring a husky tone. After that, a cheeky grin spreads across his face and he pulls her closer.

Determined to return the gesture, the muscular blond nuzzles into Minni’s neck, his lips and teeth grazing her skin and instantly sending a tingle down her spine. Her breath quivers in no time, a small burst of desire running through her veins already. Before she can do or say anything to gain some control back, she realizes that Gary is getting just as worked up as she is, until he makes the mistake of running his fingers across her belly, which makes her squirm.

The physics student can’t avoid giggling and pushing him off. “That tickles,” she laughs, instinctively backing away.

An entertained beam appears on Gary’s face as he shakes his head at himself, for having also forgotten that she’s ticklish on her stomach area. While Minni’s chuckles die down, he moves his hand to rest against her leg and fixes his gaze on her. Their bodies feel warm when they’re this close to each other, with the bedsheet bubble above them increasing the heat a bit more.

Seconds pass before Minni relaxes under the crane operator’s touch. She notices that, despite being bulky and built, he hasn’t crushed her underneath his weight. His muscular body may look very toned at first sight, but when he’s at ease like this, it feels almost cushioned. Gary is so comfortable to cuddle that she doesn’t want to let go of him, ever.

“I could get used to this,” the blond man whispers, like if he’s voicing her thoughts; he could most definitely get used to having Minni look at him with her dreamy cobalt eyes, to cuddle her small figure and to simply wake up next to her. After speaking, he kisses her arm and sighs. “Don’t worry, I will still make you a blinding cuppa. Just give me five more minutes,” he continues with a carefree beam. “I’m chuffed to be close like this with you.”

Overwhelmed by how adored she feels when she’s with him, the blue-eyed girl leans down, letting her cheek rest on his forehead. “Of course we can stay like this, Gar,” she responds in a soft voice. “I like being close with you, too.”

**In the kitchen – Morning.[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyZeJr5ppm8)**

With a defeated expression and sad eyes, Bobby stands still in front of the oven. A sigh escapes his lips as he shakes his head, not believing what he’s seeing. Behind him, Minni stands on the tip-toes of her big platform shoes, curiously looking over his shoulder. She’s cradling her recently-made cuppa between her hands and taking small sips whereas she witnesses her friend’s silent meltdown.

“Not even a day back in the Villa and you’ve managed to ruin not one, but _two_ pans of cake batter, Minerva,” the Scottish tells her, not moving from his spot. His distraught sight is glued to the pair of pans that were meant to become fluffy sponge cakes, but ended up as flat and crisp as biscuits.

During breakfast, Bobby came up with the idea of teaching Minni how to make one of his world-class cakes once and for all. He was so enthused that he ran to the communal bedroom to get his special cooking gloves and apron, leaving her to mix the ingredients and put the pans in the oven. After he came back, both waited until the oven beeped, already excited to frost the cakes. Needless to say, the pastry chef’s mood sank as soon as he saw how they turned out.

“What? Me?” the young woman asks, mildly annoyed. She surely didn’t expect this result either, but she doesn’t think she’s the one to blame. “I just made the exact mix you told me to and then put it in the oven,” she shrugs.

“Well, it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this!” Bobby complains, gesturing at the oven’s open door. He proceeds to take the tray out and throw his head back to showcase his pain.

“Oi, let me see,” Graham decides to interrupt, noticing how dramatic the Scottish is being. The sailor leaves his breakfast on the counter and stands between the two friends. Following that, he grabs a piece of flat cake and throws it into his mouth to taste. “Don’t you worry, Minnow. It’s good enough to be considered a biscuit, in my opinion,” he says, patting Minni’s shoulder.

“Ha!” the physics student exclaims at Bobby, pleased to have someone on her side. Next, she sticks her tongue out at him.

In return, the pastry chef sticks his tongue out at her too, both mocking at one another like children. A short silence forms after that, with Graham returning to eat his breakfast and Minni sitting on a stool near Gary, who is focused on making himself a cuppa. The blue-eyed girl is just planning to get the crane operator’s attention by making a cheeky comment when she hears Bobby lamenting once more. He has already gotten the cakes out of the pans and placed them on the counter; it seems like he’s torturing himself by staring at them. She realizes that he’s truly bummed out.

“I don’t know what kind of wizardry you made for them to end up this flat, especially when the flour had baking powder in it,” he whines at Minerva.

“I have no idea! I used all the ingredients that you put on the counter and mixed them just like you do,” Minni explains herself, pouting. Now, she’s starting to feel genuinely sad for apparently having ruined Bobby’s cakes, “I used the same bowls and everything.”

Graham takes a second to think; he wants to say something to prevent her from feeling bad. In no time, he raises an eyebrow and remembers that the flour package looked a tad different to him, but he didn’t say anything because he didn’t know what the two friends were cooking. “Hold on a second,” the red-haired man speaks, sauntering towards the counter.

Curious, Minni and Bobby follow him with their sights as he begins to check the ingredients one by one. In the meantime, Gary is just lifting his head from his cuppa to catch up with the conversation. He has a vague idea of what the three Islanders are talking about, and what gets his attention the most is that Graham seems to be defending Minni.

With a resolute expression, the sailor holds a package of flour up to his eye-level and inspects it. “The flour’s not the right one. Someone must’ve swapped it,” he states, confident.

The freckled friends immediately exchange staggered looks and their eyes open wide. Even Gary looks surprised as he watches from his spot in the kitchen. After that, a perplexed Bobby turns around and searches for the right flour on the cupboards, which is nowhere to be seen.

“Who would do such a thing?” the crane operator asks, confused.

“A cake saboteur, that’s who,” Bobby hisses and squints dramatically. If Minni wasn’t the victim of this situation, he would’ve surely thought that this was one of her silly pranks. After concluding that someone else must be responsible, he puffs out his chest— nobody messes with his cooking. “Who changed the flour?!” he shouts, so the Islanders that are at the other side of the kitchen and scattered across the lawn can hear him, all the while he’s holding the flour package in the air.

Whereas the Scottish saunters towards the other side of the kitchen, where Hope, Ibrahim and Marisol are hanging out, Minni turns to Graham and friendly pats his chest.

“Thanks for clearing my name, good sir,” she says with theatrical solemnity.

Bowing slightly, the Devonian responds, “You’re welcome, madame.”

After that, both laugh and return to eat their respective breakfasts. In this moment, Gary notices that, although they have known each other just for four days, the red-haired man and Minni are really good friends. They appear to share good banter and he even has a nickname for her already. Despite the fact that the crane operator has never been a jealous or insecure lad, he’s kind of feeling like he’s being left behind again; the new boy managed to make her feel better when she was being accused of messing up Bobby’s cakes, before the blond man could even catch up onto the conversation. There’s no denying that Graham is starting to remind him of the big kids at school, but now, all of the sudden, Gary gets the sensation that the sailor could take his place somehow, and can’t avoid feeling slightly competitive.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the kitchen, Bobby keeps trying to find out who sabotaged the cake batter. With an authoritarian attitude, he stands in front of the other group of three Islanders and places his hands on his hips.

“Which one of you swapped the flour?” the pastry chef asks Hope, Ibrahim and Marisol.

“What do you mean?” Ibrahim lifts both of his eyebrows, visibly puzzled.

With exaggerated hand movements to emphasise how serious this is to him, Bobby starts to explain the situation to them. Although he’s clearly distressed, his eyes only meet indifferent expressions as soon as he finishes his explanation.

“Haven’t you considered that you could’ve just given Minni the incorrect one?” Marisol questions, sceptical. She can’t imagine any reason why someone would’ve simply hidden a flour package and exchanged it with another one.

The Scottish’s first reaction is to scrunch his nose. “I would never make a mistake like that,” he replies, offended.

Given his stubbornness to let go of the topic, Hope lets out a sigh. “It’s okay, Bobby. We’ll find out who did it later,” she says.

“Later?” he gasps with outrage.

“Yes, later. We’re in the middle of an important chat right now,” the dark-skinned woman answers.

“What could be more important than my cakes?” the Scottish insists.

“Everything,” Marisol mutters to herself.

Despite her remark being quiet, Bobby obviously hears it and feels insulted. He’s about to tell her to take it back when Hope speaks.

“We’re quizzing Ibrahim, actually. We want to know everything that happened while we were away,” she informs. During the reunion the girls had this morning, each one of them was assigned a task in order to find out how the boys spent their time while they weren’t here. Ever since then, Hope has been taking to the boys in private or alongside Marisol. So far, they haven’t gotten too much information; it seems like they behaved properly, after all. “Come sit with us, Bobby. We have some questions for you, too,” the Londoner suggests, knowing that quizzing two boys at the same time will be like killing two birds with one stone.

“B-but…” the pastry chef protests, adamant on finding out who messed up his cakes.

Noticing what Hope is trying to do, Marisol decides to insist, “It’ll only take a minute.”

Following that, the Spanish girl pushes his shoulder down to make him sit between her and Hope. Before saying anything, she looks over her shoulder to make sure nobody else is listening to their conversation, and, much to her surprise, she sees Graham and Gary rushing towards the gym and Minni calmly walking behind them. Both men seem to be part of some sort of unspoken competition, as they immediately head towards the barbells and begin to put more and more weight on them. With the kitchen now empty, it seems like the two girls can finally ask something that’s been at the tip of their tongues.

“Now that they’re gone…” Marisol resumes the conversation, looking attentively at both Ibrahim and Bobby. “What was the deal with Gary?”

Perplexed, Bobby raises an eyebrow and tilts his head to one side, “What do you mean?”

“Did he crack on while we were away?” Hope explains the other girl’s question. They have been waiting for Gary to get out of the kitchen to ask Ibrahim about him, but the crane operator had been patiently making cuppas since he got out of bed. “We all know he is a flirty guy. We figured he wouldn’t have been able to resist being around all those girls,” she adds.

The moment he understands where the girls are coming from, Bobby clamps his mouth shut. There’s no way he’s venting what Gary confessed to him in their conversation at the kitchen, the one they had the last night the girls were in Casa Amor, or that him and Lucas had quite a heated argument when he found out that the physiotherapist was switching and leaving Minni vulnerable to get dumped. The Scottish knows how fast gossip spreads around the Villa and he doesn’t want to cause misunderstandings.

Trying not to look nervous, Bobby glances at Ibrahim, hoping that they’re on the same page about keeping some information secret. The only thing the golfer knows about where Gary’s mind is at now, is the fact that the crane operator said he’d stay loyal to Chelsea so he can try things out with Minni again, during the Stick or Switch ceremony. However, he has no idea if the blond man has even talked to Minerva about the subject, although he vaguely remembers seeing them sharing a bed this morning.

While the silence stretches, Ibrahim feels like he has to say something quickly as to not look suspicious. “He was... he was a bit of a mess, actually,” he tells the girls, attempting to keep his answer vague because it’s not his place to spread rumours.

His statement leaves Hope and Marisol clearly confused.

“What do you mean?” the Spanish girl asks.

“You’d think he’ll be the first to get all flirty with new ladies coming, but he was— I mean, he was friendly, but nothing more,” Bobby responds, trying to explain what Ibrahim meant but without giving too much detail.

“He was hardly into it,” the braided man adds.

Not understanding properly, Marisol blinks a couple of times. She was almost one-hundred percent sure that Gary would have the best time when meeting a new set of girls, and that he would take the opportunity to crack on in no time. In her eyes, that boy is not nearly the best at controlling his flirting impulses, “Wow. And us, girls, just assumed he was having the time of his life,” she snorts, although she can’t hide the fact that she’s a little pleased by the unexpected information.

“Well, he wasn’t exactly sad, but he wasn’t buzzing either,” Ibrahim clarifies. “He didn’t try anything with any girl, as far as I know.”

“The closest he got to a girl was when he did the piggyback ride in the challenge,” Bobby smiles, chuckling at the memory of how fun that day was, despite not having the original girls around.

Marisol takes a while to process the information, considering that not cracking on at all with six new girls is something that she surely didn’t expect from the cheeky crane operator. While she’s thinking of an explanation, an idea crosses her mind. Secretly, she leans towards the boys. “You think it’s because he missed Lottie?” she asks in a whisper, with this being the most obvious reason why.

The law student’s supposition takes the men by surprise.

“Lottie? I— uh… I don’t think so...” Ibrahim stutters. Although he doesn’t really know what’s going on with Gary, he’s sure that the muscular man held back his flirting because he wanted to get back to Minni.

“What happened, then? There must be a reason why he didn’t crack on,” Hope insists, unconvinced. She’s already getting the vibe that the boys are hiding something from them, so she chooses to push the topic until they spill. Folding her arms across her chest and raising an eyebrow, she stares at them. Her serious face only shows that she knows they’re not telling the full story and that she’s willing to put pressure on them until they do.

Determined on getting all the information, Marisol joins the retail ambassador and fixes her eyes on the two men in front of them.

After seconds of intense staring, is Bobby who finally gives in to pressure. He reluctantly sighs and subtly nods in Minni’s direction, to point at her as ‘the reason’. His friend is still fooling around at the gym with the lads, not aware that the people at the kitchen are gossiping about them.

Immediately, Hope opens her eyes wide. “Minni? Are you serious?” she inquires, baffled and not believing it one bit. “But they haven’t been together since _forever_.”

On the contrary, it all makes sense for Marisol now. This morning, she got up earlier than the rest of the Islanders and, before going to the roof terrace, she took a look at the communal bedroom. Much to her surprise, she noticed that Gary’s bed was empty, and when she started looking for him with her gaze, she realized that his blond hair was peeking out of the duvet in none other than the corner bed, where Minni was sleeping at. The law student never expected to see those two cuddling this morning— if any, she expected Bobby to move onto Minni’s bed, since she’s the only one who tolerates having him starfish all night. Moreover, the physics student and the crane operator were so evidently cuddling that Marisol thought everyone would notice as soon as the lights turned on, but it seems like Hope never saw them.

The Spanish girl instantly gives Hope a look and then rolls her eyes at her, “You clearly haven’t been paying attention, hun.”

“Why?” the other woman knits her eyebrows in confusion.

After indicating to her to lower the volume of her voice so the people at the gym don’t listen, Marisol leans in again and whispers, “They were sharing a bed this morning.”

Astonished, Hope raises both of her eyebrows and stares at her friend. For her, Minni and Gary were such a brief fling that she didn’t even consider the possibility of them fancying each other anymore, especially when both moved on to other people after the second Recoupling. Sure, they have been good friends after they were coupled up for just two days, but she’s seen nothing too out of the ordinary, asides from the Chathamite rating Minni’s kiss a ten in the Snogathon. Until now, the retail ambassador thought that said rating was just a silly mistake and part of the game, but now she’s thinking that, perhaps, it was special to him because there were feelings involved.

Right now, Hope can only ask herself how did she not see this coming. She can’t even discern if they haven’t stopped liking each other since they got separated by Priya, or if they started looking to the side while they were coupled up with Bobby and Lottie— maybe this is one of the reasons why Minni and Lottie are not as close as they were during early days.

Despite not understanding the whole situation, Hope is sure that, if Minni and Gary get back together, they could be considered a couple that has been around for as long as she and Noah, something that definitely doesn’t play in her favour if she wants to win the show. Even if they’re not currently together, Hope knows that being with Noah almost guarantees her a ticket to the final, because she considers that her couple is the best one of the season so far. Now that they’re not as solid as before, it definitely doesn’t help to have another couple that could be at their level.

Feeling frustrated because of her circumstances, Hope’s body tenses. After realizing that she doesn’t fancy anyone else asides from Noah, she has been set on getting him back. For that to happen, she only has to find out if he still likes her, and if he’s willing to put Priya aside, with this being the main reason why she’s quizzing the boys. The retail ambassador doesn’t need this type of competition coming from Gary and Minni right now, even if those two are far from competitive people.

Although she doesn't know how likely it is for the blue-eyed pair to come back together, or if she and Noah will be able to reconcile after all, Hope is not getting a good gut feeling about this. All she’s certain for now is that she’s not completely sure if she likes the idea of Minni and Gary becoming a solid couple.

**In the kitchen – Afternoon.**

There’s no sound in the kitchen area other than the clatter of the dishes, as Lottie furiously carries them from one place to another. Darkness seems to loom over her while she aggressively scrubs food out of the empty plates and puts them over the counter; the least she needed today is to be left alone to wash her own dishes, given that most of the Islanders have already finished lunch and are currently hanging out in the poolside.

It goes without saying that she hasn’t had a good time since she returned to the Villa, something that she didn’t think was possible. During her last days in Casa Amor, all she could think about was coming back to the original boys and have Gary at her feet, saying that he missed her. And, although the pair wasn’t getting along before the Recoupling that messed things up, she was sure that the crane operator was still willing to come back to her and that, most importantly, he had stayed loyal for her and not for Chelsea. Right now, Lottie feels like an absolute mug for realizing that her illusions were far from the actual truth.

With the same resentful expression she has in this moment, she watched how Gary and Minni cuddled in bed, and then when they hung out all morning at the gym. Just now it seems that those two have parted ways and are having chats with other people, but that doesn’t fix the fact that they were practically joined by the hip during the first hours of the day.

As of now, the only thing that has lifted up Lottie’s mood a bit was playing spies alongside the girls, even if the main result of it was just having Noah and Hope apparently getting back together. Asides from that, there hasn’t been much going on in the Villa, probably because the drama will spark during tonight’s Dumping. At this point, the makeup artist doesn’t even know if this will be her last day in the show— however, maybe it would be best for her to leave before she’s able to unleash all the anger she feels towards Gary.

Like if she had summoned him with her thoughts somehow, the Chathamite arrives to the kitchen and calmly opens the fridge. With her peripheral vision, the tattooed woman sees the bulky crane operator simply looking for some milk. Once he finds it, he takes the carton, closes the fridge and then grabs a box of colourful cereal. While having the sensation that the universe is testing her patience today, Lottie huffs.

The blonde woman is making a lot of noise by angrily arranging the plates and cutlery, something that catches Gary’s attention as soon as he finishes making himself a sugary bowl of cereal and milk.

“Are you alright, Lozza?” the muscular man innocently asks, worried for seeing her irritated like this.

Not knowing whether or not he’s pretending not having an idea of what’s gotten her upset, Lottie ignores him and keeps doing her task. For a second, she can’t decide if she should just give him the cold shoulder or voice her discomfort. Ultimately, her character gets the best of her and she ends up bitterly shrugging in response.

“No. Everything’s amazing,” she ironically answers, not turning around to face him.

The Chathamite tilts his head to one side and stares at her, curious. He genuinely has no clue why she’s all irritated, mainly because he has missed all the signs; he didn’t even notice that she was throwing glances at him and Minni this morning, especially while they were cuddling in bed, and neither did the blue-eyed girl.

After not getting a proper response from Gary, who’s just quiet from confusion, Lottie chooses to speak again. “It’s just that, it was weird seeing _some people_ suddenly all lovey-dovey after we came back from Casa Amor,” she tells him with a venomous voice tone.

The crane operator is left equally perplexed for an instant, until he understands what she means. _So this is what all of this was about_ , he thinks. It’s an absolute surprise for him to find out that the Aussie is jealous of Minni, when she declared in the Recoupling before Casa Amor that she was willing to give Ibrahim a chance— because of that comment of hers, Gary thought that Lottie wasn’t interested in him anymore, and that was why she was moving on to the golfer. Besides, they were already having plenty of trouble as a couple.

Not replying right away, the blue-eyed man’s concern expression fades away and is replaced by a serious one. He looks almost disappointed for having to deal with a situation like this.

“You girls just arrived. I’m not discussing this now, Lozza,” he gently says, not wanting to engage in any conflict. There’s probably people getting dumped tonight, so he’s not willing to start a discussion and increase the tension in the Villa.

After hearing his response, Lottie makes a pause and stops doing her task altogether. Is not new from Gary to avoid any kind of argument, but there’s also a strange determination in his short statement. He doesn’t usually have such a sharp tone in his voice, now that she thinks about it. Because of this, she remains quiet and begins to dry the dishes, fighting against her urge to snap back at him.

Although the blond man doesn’t want to be part of this conversation anymore, he stays in the kitchen for a moment, just to make sure that Lottie is alright despite being clearly angry at him. Despite the fact that he still doesn’t comprehend what’s caused her to want to pursue him again, and that it resulted in her being jealous, he truly feels bad for her and doesn’t like the idea of leaving things like this.

It only takes a matter of seconds before the makeup artist can’t hold herself back any longer, annoyed even more by the persistent presence of the crane operator. “For the record, I expected you to go _my way_ , since _we_ were coupled up before Casa Amor,” she sharply adds.

Puzzled, Gary’s left with mouth agape. “But you said you wanted to try things with Ibrahim,” he claims. He can’t see why there would be a misunderstanding when Lottie clearly told the braided man ‘let’s see how it goes’ after he picked her in that Recoupling.

“I was just being nice,” the blonde woman dismisses with a hand gesture, like if it was an obvious answer.

Following this, the Chathamite lets out a heavy sigh. He never thought that his quick trip to the kitchen to get a snack would turn out into a stressful talk with Lottie.

Before he can think of something to justify himself, the tattooed woman speaks again. “Also, I don’t get why _her_. It’s like you two being a thing came out of nowhere,” she states, even though she’s always known that there could be remnants of what Minni and Gary had in early days. She should’ve known that tricking Minni into not choosing Gary at that Recoupling could backfire somehow, Lottie tells herself— particularly considering that, technically, the physics student is going back to him now that he’s available.

“What do you mean?” the muscular man asks then, confused.

“Ugh, nevermind,” Lottie rolls her eyes at him, exasperated for having to explain herself; it’s evident that Gary is way too naïve to catch onto the underlying meaning of her declarations. Another person would’ve immediately guessed that she was hinting at a hidden reason why they have decided to come back together, maybe competition related, although she’s not nearly convinced of that theory. In honest words, Lottie wants to believe that there’s a reason other than Gary solely liking Minni more than he likes her. “Why her, is all I’m asking,” the woman shortly clarifies, defensively crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Needless to say, the blond man is not sure how to respond to that without hurting Lottie’s feelings. He doesn’t have the nerve to confess that he went along with whatever they had going on because Minerva was with someone else, and he recognizes that it was a mistake to lead her on even if he didn’t mean to. It’s true that he did fancy the Aussie at some point, and that he was curious on how things would go with her, but his feelings for her are not nearly as strong as those he has for the blue-eyed girl. He’s ashamed to admit that he would’ve dropped all they had to go back to Minni.

“She makes me happy, Lottie,” is the best reply he can come up with right now, and he honestly means it. Calmly, he expects the Aussie to comprehend, and to know that he doesn’t want anyone to get hurt.

“Oh, and I don’t?” the green-eyed girl answers, a bitter tone dripping from her dark coloured lips. “I understand, I guess,” she continues with an irritated sigh.

Despite noticing that his words have only annoyed Lottie more, Gary shrugs it off and shakes his head. “You know I didn’t mean it that way,” he speaks in a soft voice.

The woman just rolls her eyes in response and then fixes her sight on the cutlery that’s in front of her, apparently giving up in the conversation. The silence that forms in the kitchen area after this is nowhere near to be a comfortable one, as tension and pressure is almost palpable between the two, although not for the same reasons. Whereas the Aussie is infuriated for feeling utterly pied off, Gary is starting to second-guess himself and that causes his entire body to stiffen. He’s never had the intention of making her feel this way, so he begins to question if he’s actually done something wrong without meaning to, after all.

Before jumping to any conclusions, the crane operator has to remind himself that he hasn’t actually hurt Lottie by choosing Minni— he’s just pursuing who he likes the most and there’s nothing wrong about that. And it’s also not his fault that the makeup artist stated, not long ago, that she wanted to give someone else an opportunity. But, perhaps, he did tread on her toes by going in too strong on Minni without giving her time to process that he’s now with someone else. Still, he’s certain that this issue is not the physic student’s fault, but that Lottie could think otherwise and accuse her of stealing him away.

“Don’t try to get back at Minni, please,” Gary tells her. He seems determined despite the fact that he’s attempting to conceal how uneasy he feels by the possibility of that, “It was my idea to share beds.”

After giving him a side glare, Lottie takes a second to think. After a while, she comes to the conclusion that, if she wants to have a chance with the blond man in the future, she can’t go around retaliating against a person who he evidently cares about. For now, she can only wait for him to see that she’s a better match to him than Minerva.

“I won’t. And not because you are asking me, but because I want to keep things light here,” the tattooed woman ultimately answers, still not looking directly at him.

Following that, Gary decides that this will be a right moment to leave the kitchen, as none of them have anything else to say in the matter, or at least not for now. Even though he’s not quite hungry anymore, he silently picks up his bowl of cereal and begins to walk away.

“I can’t believe I thought that if I stayed loyal to you in Casa Amor, we’d pick up where we left off,” Lottie mutters quietly, right before the Chathamite exits the area. Next, her green eyes briefly meet his, for the first time in minutes.

Not being able to deal with the situation she’s putting him in, the blond crane operator just shakes his head in discontent. Without saying anything else, he walks out of the kitchen, leaving Lottie alone once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sooo excited to share what comes next with you guys✧･ﾟ: * i will try to stick to the game as much as possible, but honestly after Casa Amor there's events and character behaviors that just don't make sense, so i'm definitely going to get rid of some of them to keep the story consistent :z  
> also, make sure to check my other fic 'Blue and Hazel' ★彡 i've been working really hard on it, most chapters are split into two parts as well and it's updated more regularly than this one :D  
> anyway, feel free to share your thoughts down below and thank you again for waiting! what will happen in part 2? :O stay tuned to find out! see you soon in the next chapter｡･:*:･ﾟ★


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